Hunter
by Siegfried01
Summary: Hunter. An insane madman who wiped out an entire guild. Kurama. A fun-loving blacksmith whose attitude is matched by his ramen addiction. Kyuubi. ANBU captain. These three different players have something in common: For them, the world, and their lives are defined by the blade.
1. Prologue: Hunter

**A/N: A new story! I came up with this, and couldn't write anything else so I wrote it down.**

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**Prologue: Hunter**

"**Hunter. An infamous player widely known throughout SAO. His reputation came from stories where he totally annihilated a guild of over 20 members; his own guild.**

**After that incident, he vanished, going under the radar for a year. During that time most players assumed he had died, which was rather likely; PKers often die because the person they attempted to kill was able to overwhelm them or simply because of their Red Marker.**

**However, I, as well as several other players knew that Hunter was not in fact dead. Hunter was actually searching for something, searching for what, I do not know. But after he either found it or simply gave up, a year after his disappearance, he resurfaced as a member of ANBU.**

**ANBU: A guild of powerful and dangerous members with an elitist mentality. Openly regarded as a guild for the best and the brightest, it was one of the most secretive, meaning while many knew of it the actual information on it was scarce. Location. Size. Goals. Even the uniform of its members were all a mystery. One of the only pieces of information, even then it was very tightly kept, was the guild symbol which was a circular flame with another line cupping the bottom and right side like a handle.**

**What was odd about this guild was that they never appeared in the frontline.**

**After I grew closer to Asuna the shared some information she gained as the Vice-Commander of Knights of the Blood. ANBU, prior to Hunter's reemergence, was a guild that operated rather oddly. It acted as an informal guild with teams of 5 that operated independently that often took bounty-hunting jobs.**

**After Hunter resurfaced, however, the guild seemed to deviate from bounty-hunting and went into a state of inactivity for a month before totally switching targets. From freelance bounty-hunters to clearers at the frontlines, they were famous for their members' high skill levels and low fatality rates.**

**There were Nine top squads in ANBU, led by players who took the names Ichibi, Nibi, Sanbi, Yonbi, Gobi, Rokubi, Nanabi, Hachibi and Kyuubi. Each used a unique weapon that were impossible to find, at least, from monster drops.**

**Eventually, just a few days prior to my return to the frontlines, Asuna and I heard a new piece of information. Hunter was Kyuubi. Now, to understand, Hunter and Kyuubi are two separate epithets; the player's real name was a mystery, as well as his face. As Hunter he constantly had a hooded cloak on and as Kyuubi he wore a porcelain mask that all ANBU wear with the pattern of a Kitsune on it.**

**Moving on from Hunter and Kyuubi for a moment, during my travels and adventures in SAO, I met many craftsmen and merchants. A few, in particular, stand out. Agil, a merchant based on the 50th Floor, Algade, and a good friend. Lisbeth, a blacksmith, in particular, the one who forged Dark Repulsor for me. The final would be Kurama.**

**Kurama is an interesting man who was known to only sell custom-made weapons this, of course, reduced his popularity as most people wouldn't want to wait and test out different weapon styles. He is also a good friend of mine and Asuna's. Despite his popularity and reputation being lower than Lisbeth's, she once told me that she greatly respected him and admired the pride he took in his work.**

**Kurama also forged several blades, Agil's Axe, Klein's Katana and he assisted in the process of forging Asuna's rapier: Lambient Light.**

**It was during my ventures into the Boss Dungeon on the 74th Floor that I found out that Kurama was an ANBU member. **

**Seeing as you wanted to know of my time in SAO, Sugu, let's start with Kurama's story."**

**~Kirigaya Kazuto**

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**A/N: Short prologue, I felt it was nice. **

**Pairings for the story...yes. I need help on this.**

**Choices: **

**Suguha**

**Shinon(Shino)**

**Lisbeth**

**Yugito**

**Fuu**

**Poll is on my profile.**


	2. Skills List

**Description of skills**

**Read me. I am important to understanding the story.**

**This is a compilation of the skills I will be using in the story. It will be updated as we go along.**

**SAO Skills:**

Tsujikaze: The user lowers their Katana-type weapon to their left hip to imitate an Iai(Quickdraw). After the skill activates it is impossible to counter-attack, the only time available is during the windup time. After activating the user charges the target and performs a slash to the target from lower left to upper right, reminiscent to a quickdraw. The skill causes the blade to glow green in the book and white/blue in the anime. 3s windup time and 0.8s penalty.

Tsumujiguruma: Omni-directional katana skill. Once «Tsumujiguruma» is activated, the user first crouches and then jumps up high, turning their body in mid-air, thus accumulating power to their weapon. When the user reaches the ground, they unleash a heavy, horizontal 360 degrees slash and hitting anyone in the area around the user unfortunate enough to get in their way. Though it is a ranged attack, the attack deals a large amount of damage and also causes a stun effect on everyone hit by the skill. However, as the skill is a very high-leveled, it also has a long post-motion delay. Purple light in anime, crimson in books. 0.5s windup time, 5s penalty.

Hiogi: There's no wiki page for this so I'm only assuming, don't take my word for it.

User swings katana upwards, then downwards then thrusts. Going by this, the starting position would be the sword behind the user with the blade facing upwards. As the name means "scarlet fan" I'm assuming the effect is red.

Reaver: A basic curved sword skill. The user puts their blade on the back, as if resting it on their shoulder. The user then leaps forwards and strikes the target. Blade glows a bright red. 0.3s windup time, 0s penalty.

«Sonic Leap» is a charge-type Sword Skill that consists of a single top to bottom vertical slash, similarly to the 1-hit skill Vertical however, «Sonic Leap» allows the user to charge from over twice the distance in an instant. The skill is also similar to, except that this skill's range is shorter than «Rage Spike»'s and its trajectory can be aimed for the sky.T he skill is activated by raising the sword high up, usually atop one's shoulder

Whirlwind: A basic two-handed ax skill. «Whirlwind» consists of a single swing with a two-handed ax from bottom-right to top left, the swing being similar to a whirlwind, which can cause an impact so great that an entire boss room trembles and a boss is knocked back quite a distance. The ax head glowed green. 1s windup time 2s penalty.

**Log Horizon Skills:**

Assassin Skills:

Assassinate: [Special] Assassins key and last resort skill, it is the strongest instantaneous damage ability among weapon-based attacking classes. Deals large damage to an enemies body, furthermore enemies usually killed instantly if their level is lower than the Assassin's by 10 levels or more. Since strength of this skill is increased with higher ranks, the Assassin can potentially outclass the firepower of others. If the attack lands, a white glow appears on screen surrounding the enemy, showing their silhouette falling if it is instant death. The ranged version of this resembles a lightning strike by numerous arrows.

Stealth Blade: Takes an enemy by surprise and launches an ambush. A strong attack technique that increases it's damage greatly if it hits the back of the enemy. The cooldown is short, and can be used aggressively if there is a chance. However, it must be used in combination with other skills to efficiently take advantage of the "attack from behind" condition in solo situations. It is suited for use in parties since the job of the warrior is the attract the attention of enemies, this basic form of cooperation leaves the enemy open to surprise attacks from the back, creating a pincer attack.

Accel Fang: [Supplementary - Movement technique] A blow that nimbly cuts open an enemy while running through them. It has standard damage (a little on the low end for an Assassin skill), but if the attack lands there is a temporary increase in attack speed. The acceleration effect accumulates whenever Accel Fang hits consecutively (maximum 50%). This skill is used by Assassins who focus on mobility and number of hits rather than the damage of a single blow. Also, with the movement of slipping through the enemy, they can use it to fine tune their positioning. When an Assassin is rapidly dashing back and forth between the enemies to accumulate the effect, others occasionally poke fun at it, calling it "before and after exercise", "up line, down line"(as in railway directions) and the like.

Venom Strike: [Supplementary - Abnormal status] Attack by using a blade or arrow coated with deadly poison. In addition to the increased damage during the duration of the effect, there is also a chance to poison the enemy, causing damage over time. The weapon takes on a malicious purple hue when in use and when the attack hits it adds a boiling bubbling poison effect. Many Assassins who used to use poison habitually seem to have stopped after the Catastrophe, this is because it actually poisons the enemy through the skill and the hunting of the required ingredients is considered to be prohibited.

Paralyzing Blow: [Abnormal status] Attack by using a blade or arrow coated with paralysis poison. In addition to the increased damage during the duration of the effect, there is also a chance to paralyze the enemy, stopping the movements of the enemy. The weapon takes on a pale yellow glow when in use and when the attack hits it adds an effect like a running electric current.

Fatal Ambush: Skill that does an ambush attack. After preparing the weapon and storing energy for a while, unleashes a powerful slash or shot using the power of the entire body. Because the storing time is long, one can easily be interrupted or separated from the target, so in order to use the skill without risks it is common to use in combination with stealth skills. As the skill rank increases, the storage time decreases and becomes easier to use. When in use the weapon or arrow glows a dark red and leaves a trail in the air.

Sweeper: Skill that delivers a coup de grâce with minimum movement. Enemies that are near death or is considerably lower level than you are instantly killed. This is said to be a skill that makes an Assassin an Assassin, along with Assassinate. It has short motions so it is easily used between other skills, it's often used to clean up mobs missed by other party members, and for eliminating mobs that surround the boss. This skill is nicknamed "Cleaner" by other players, accompanied with phrases like "Best regards, cleaner", "Cleaning is complete", "It is not completely cleaned yet!" and the like.

Poison Fog: Skill that produces a poisonous green fog that deals damage in an area around the designated location. An unusual attack skill where you can designate location, it shows its true might in tight corridors and the like, but one must take care of the timing since not only does this skill damage enemies, it damages allies as well. Skill rank affects the duration, power and range of area affected by the poison fog.

Pain Needle: [Abnormal status] An object that is coated in poison is thrown, inflicting the target with poison status. The strength of the poison is weaker than that of Venom Strike's, but has small motions so it is a popular technique to use in between other skills. When used in combination with a sub-class like Poison User which strengthens poisons, the effect is quite brutal.

Death Stinger: [Abnormal status] A special ability that damages the enemy and has a chance to poison them. Can only be used with a melee weapon, but with the additional damage caused by the poison makes it MP efficient. A common tactic tactic is to hit an enemy with Death Stinger and then withdrawing to hit another enemy with Death Stinger, repeating the pattern. This method of killing is called "Crossroads killing(Tsujigiri)", it is mostly popular due to the springing motion resembling a poison scorpion.

Deadly Dance: An attack from a low stance where the waist is lowered and the attack is unleashed, a melee only skill. Although it doesn't have much power, it has a cooldown of 1 second and has the ability to increase it's power if used consecutively(up to 8 stacks), so it is possible to kill the opponent in a flurry of hits. When it use it takes on a pale glow and leaves trails in the air, the glow strengthens with each hit. Because the use of Deadly Dance is extremely hurried, other actions tend to become careless due to the focus. There have been cases where players have spilled their drink on their desks while playing, this skill is known to produce various tragicomedies.

Extermination: [Two-handed weapon] Only works with a two-handed weapon. Using large weapons like longswords or scythes, deals a single deadly bisection certain kill blow to the neck of the enemy (or, other equivalent vital points). It has a large flourish type of attack, creating large gaps between attacks due to the long motions, also it is easy to gain hate because of the high damage, not to mention defense is usually neglected from use of this skill which leads to problems.

Samurai Skills:

Kabuto-wari

(Helm Splitter) Charges at the enemy from the front and swings weapon straight down the center, aiming for the head. First attacks on monsters gain bonus damage, so many use this skill to initiate combat. Range is very wide in the front due to Samurai moving the attack motion. This is also the reason why Samurai beginners immediately charge in using this skill.

Mozu no Hayanie

(Early Sacrifice of Mozu)

[Lanias Capture] Two-handed weapon skill. Dive in to thrust at enemy's head, throat, then entire body. Damage is mild but temporarily interrupt enemy's chanting or spellcasting, so it is effective against magic users. However the skill range is short.

Kasha no Tachi

(Kasha's Tachi) Named after the ghoul in the Yamato legends that sent the dead to the afterworld. Imbues weapon with strong desire to defeat enemy and, as if drawing the a circle around the enemy, attacks with continuous strikes. When against multiple enemies, it can be used to split up enemies or as a hate skill. When against a single enemy, it can deal massive damage.

Koko Yaburi

(Breaking the Tiger's Jaw) Heavy weapon (Axe or Hammer) skill. Strikes as if to break down walls or gates, a sudden intense heavy attack. Is not just a simple direct attack, but also collectively blows away all enemies nearby and applies stun effect. Samurai use this skill to open up a breakthrough and allies follow rushing in. Has the potential to completely destroy enemy formation, especially powerful in teamfights. In raids, Samurai using heavy weapons like axes or hammers are also fairly common.

Shunsen

(Flash)

[Fast Break] Auxiliary skill. Launches a swift attack. Temporarily increases attack speed, shortens interval between attacks, makes continuous strikes possible. DPS increases as enemy numbers increase.

Suzaku no Kamae

(Stance of the Vermillion Bird)

[Assault Stance] Auxiliary skill, toggle-type. Can be turned on or off at will for the situation. Takes an offensive stance with a roar. When in effect, gains red aura and offensive power increases dramatically but evasion ability decreases just as much. Used for short-term battles to defeat weaker opponents in as little time as possible.

Go no Sen

(Earliness of Lateness) Auxiliary skill. Intentionally allow enemy to have initiative and place self into the position of responding to take advantage of a flaw in opponent's attack and launch a continuous counterattack. Samurai who use this skill take the interception stance. Samurai in interception mode will automatically counterattack. "Iai Stance" and such counterattack skills can also be used in conjunction with this skill, counter builds with a combination of these counterattacks are staple battle tactics of Samurai.

Ukifune watari

(Ukifune Ferry) Movement skill, Auxiliary skill. A skill that allows Samurai's footwork to mimic a boat that floats on surface of water. While in use, feet move as though sliding. Movement speed does not actually change. Since this skill increases accuracy rate, Samurai use it against enemies with high evasion rate or as preparation before repeating a large skill you don't want to give up. Even when in close contact with enemy, Samurai can use to "Ukifune Backstep", which is a common practice of Samurai players.

Iai no Kamae

(Iai Stance) Auxiliary skill, toggle-type, stance. Can be turned on or off at will for the situation. Samurai, barehanded without a weapon, holds the Iai stance. While in effect, can draw the Iai, an extremely powerful and hard-to-evade attack, however due to "Stance→Attack" being 2 required motions, the attack is slightly delayed. The Samurai makes the stance his base and focuses on the power of a single strike rather than multiple strikes. The "Iai build" is one of the typical Samurai builds. While in effect, blue aura covers whole body.

Samurai's Challenge Hate skill. Brandish weapon, declare one's name and such actions causes target to lose temper, provocation technique that encourages enemies to attack the user.

Kodama Kaeshi

(Rebounding Echo) Hate Auxiliary skill. When hit by an opponent's attack the Samurai automatically counters, with the accuracy rate depending on proficiency level. Elimination rate increases as enemy numbers increase although hate incurred from the damage of the counter also offsets hate agitation. The ability to maintain hate is very valuable.

Denkosekka

[Lightning Speed] Offense/Defensive Auxiliary skill. Self-reinforcement skill that increases own movement speed. In addition, when receiving an enemy attack, the Samurai can activate then cancel in a rigid time frame, and gains what is commonly called "Super Armor" . During this effect, entire body wrapped in a lightning sparks aura. An all-in maximum-speed straight-charge attack enhances damage and hate. The beautiful aura is nice but this skill leaves behind the team and is considered bad teamwork and looked down upon in parties.

Ittoryodan

(Cut in Two) Literally cuts enemy in half by letting out one extremely intense attack. Capable of dealing a large amount of damage. Cooldown one use a day. Only a single hit with a moment of explosive DPS, cannot continuously deal out large amounts of damage like the Assassin.

Kirikaeshi

(Returning Slash)

[Counter Break] Can offset the power of attacks aimed at myself, by landing my own hit. If offsetting is successful, weapon gains a shining effect. This skill is also popular for looking fancy. Amount of damage that can be reduced depends on attack power so for offensive Samurai, this skill can be called a trump card. Because it has a long cooldown and cannot be used in succession, there is technical aspect of the user's skill.

Setsuna no Mikiri

(A Moment's Jettison) Can completely avoid any and all attacks, evasion success rate occurs in a flash. Extremely short time of effect, starts at 2 seconds and with the utmost training can reach 8 seconds. While active, can reach 100% evasion rate, becomes practically invincible during this duration.

Murakamo no Tachi

(Murakamo's Tachi) Katana skill. Just like the legend of Ame no Murakamo who extinguished a burning wildfire with a single swing, the Samurai cancels attacks by slicing and cutting through each attack. Extremely short duration but enemy's attacks are completely nullified. Thanks to the long range of Murakamo no Tachi, it not only protects the Samurai, but covers allies as well. Sometimes this skill will make or break a raid boss fight.

Ikkikasei

(In One Breath) Auxiliary skill. Allows Samurai to use any skill and ignores cooldown. Duration is exceptionally short but still possible to mount a continuous barrage of powerful attacks.

Miscellaneous skills

Zentetsuken

(Steel-Cutting Sword) Is described to destroy doors, obstacles, and other such breakable objects with one strike.


	3. Chapter 1: Sword Art Online

**Chapter 1: Sword Art Online**

Sword Art Online.

Popularized as the most awaited game of the century; if only because of the fact that it was the first game to fully utilize the Virtual Capabilities of the NerveGear, Fulldive. Honestly not very surprising; considering the makers of both SAO and NerveGear are the same man, one Kayaba Akihiko.

It was this virtue of SAO which led to a spiky-haired blonde blue-eyed boy fidgeting in place so much he was nearly vibrating. The NerveGear in his hands, all powered up and ready to go with the cartridge for SAO already sitting neatly in its slot, his eyes were raptured on an old-fashioned automatic clock perched on his wall.

55…

56…

57…

Almost reverently, he donned the NerveGear helmet.

58…

59…

Taking a deep breath, he exhaled loudly to calm his nerves.

1 pm, November 6th, 2022. The official launch of the SAO servers in Japan.

"Link Start!"

Immediately, the body of the teen slumped, collapsing neatly on his bed. Impossibly blue eyes opened to see a vortex of every shade of every colour imaginable. Hovering, or standing, he really couldn't tell, in an endless void of sterile white that almost hurt to look at, the teen looked around for a moment before a message popped up in front of him with a small pinging sound.

**Sensory Calibration Complete!  
IP Address Check Complete!  
Connection Verified!  
Game Edition Verified!**

**Log In | Register **

Lifting a hand, privately wondering at how natural it was to move within the game, he pressed **Log In**.

**Language: Japanese.  
Account: ******  
Password: ********

**Character Creation:**

**Beta-Test Data still available.  
****Use Pre-existing Data | Create New Character**

The teen quickly poked the option to use pre-existing data.

**Enter?**

Smiling, the teen uttered the word that would utterly change his life, for better or for worse.

"Yes."

**oOo Hunter oOo**

Materializing in a cloud of blue sparks, the teen slowly brought his hand in front of his face to inspect it for any sign of it being a computer generation, which it was. Satisfied, he gained an almost vulpine smirk before checking his inventory and stats.

As to be expected, he was Level 1 again with basic stats. However his gaze roamed over his Col amount and smirked.

"It seems Kayaba-sensei increased the starting amount of Col, nice."

Satisfied, he immediately made his way over to a part of the town that, had it been a real town, would have been considered the seedy area. Stopping in front of a small two-story shop with a noticeably more Eastern design than the rest of the town, he smirked before making his way inside.

Browsing the storekeeper NPC's selection, he quickly bought some potions before looking through the weapons selection.

'_Deer Horn Knives, registered as daggers__...__Butterfly Swords__, odd, they're registered as a matched set of daggers...__a reclining moon blade, registered as a polearms weapon...bō...scimitar, that's interesting, some assorted japanese weapons...a broadsword, called a jian...woah, that is an enormous sword, a zweihänder huh? Nothing interesting...wait! What's this?'_

He quickly bought his items and left the store; on the way to the field he bumped into someone else. Literally.

"Ow!"

"Gah!"

Opening his eyes after his fall when he collided with another player, the first thing he saw was pinstriped fabric, the default clothes, and an odd...bump. Gently giving it a squeeze, he was rewarded by a moan, a very...feminine moan- oh shit.

"HENTAI!"

Extracting himself from where he planted rather painfully on the cobblestone street, the teen was treated to the sight of an extremely pissed off female player. Who had unsheathed a matched pair of sharp looking butterfly swords with a simple steel blade and wooden grip wrapped in leather.

Now that he was standing, and not getting slapped by a surprisingly strong woman, the teen had the ability to fully observe the woman in front of him.

If it wasn't for her extremely pissed off expression, the woman could actually be considered pretty. Then again, there are cases of male players creating female characters...so...but in any case. Her flowing ebony locks, delicate and elfin features and green eyes made for quite the pretty sight.

Scowling, the woman opened her menu before selecting an option and choosing it. After a moment, a small window appeared in front of the teen.

**Matatabi challenges you to a duel.**

**Accept | Decline**

Smirking his usual vulpine smile, the teen simply settled for asking, "A duel huh? Do you even know _how_ to use those blades you bought?" The woman simply scowled harder. Raising his arms in surrender, the teen smiled in resignation before pressing the option to accept.

**~Matatabi POV~**

Matatabi's day had started off rather well, she logged into SAO and managed to find the shop her sister told her about and bought a pair of butterfly swords that she managed to barely afford.

Then it went downhill rather quickly when she got tackled by another player and blatantly _groped_ in public. When she was to look back at her decision to challenge the stranger to a duel, she would think that it may not have been such a good idea.

However, she wasn't thinking clearly and immediately challenged him.

He looked at the challenge and smirked. That _infernal_ smirk that reminded her of a fox. She got even angrier when he disregarded her challenge entirely and appeared to doubt her capabilities. "A duel huh? Do you even know _how_ to use those blades you bought?" Now that she could see him, she noticed that he was actually quite handsome.

His golden blonde hair was extremely spiky, like he received an electric shock and his hair never went down, it went down to the middle of his neck with two bangs coming down to his chin to frame his fringe went down to his eyebrows and left his eyes untouched. His _eyes_, they were a shade of deep blue, like the ocean, and their gaze seemed to pin Matatabi in her place, the eyes of a natural alpha. His features were not _attractive_ in the conventional sense, his eyes were slanted like a cat's, or a fox's, and his nose was sharp and his features were sharper than normal and feral looking. That, added to the jagged whisker marks on his cheeks, gained him a feral and dominating look, especially when he smirked and she saw canines that were slightly longer than a normal human's, not fangs but longer than normal.

All in all he had a feral and dominating presence that made Matatabi _want _to submit, and that just enraged her more, hence her scowl deepening. He appeared to get the message and raised his arms in surrender before accepting, selecting the "First Strike" duel option.

As the counter began, she noticed his name, Kurama. Storing that piece of information in her head for later, she quickly switched her grip on her blades to a reverse grip and got into a combat position. She ducked to lower her center of gravity and rotated so her left side faced him slightly more than the right side, similar to a boxing pose, with her blades extended protectively in front of her face and ribs.

As the timer counted down to start the duel, she observed him.

**~Kurama POV~**

'_That woman, she knows what she's doing, reversing the grips on those knives give them more leverage and her stance is basic but strong and flexible. Well, since she's competent, I can use my weapons.'_

With that he unsheathed the weapon on his back. It was around a meter long with a curved steel blade. It had a red rectangle guard and had a wooden grip wrapped in white stingray skin and was overlaid by white fabric.

Judging by the widening of her eyes, Matatabi knew what the blade was. A katana. Moving his right leg behind his left, Kurama held his katana in a classic kendo position.

5…

4…

3…

Tensing, Kurama got ready to spring into action.

2…

1…

0

Hearing the buzzing that signalled the start of a duel, he immediately sprang forward. Seeing Matatabi do the same, he quickly dodged her right blade which was aimed at his neck. As he ducked under her blade, he quickly used the flat side of his blade to sweep her leg out of position. He was in for a surprise when she planted her foot onto his outstretched thigh, grabbed his sleeve with her hand and sent a roundhouse to his head.

Quickly disengaging, he just managed to avoid getting his nose broken from her kick. Kurama was forced to take another step back to dodge her roundhouse kick, privately, he wondered if she was that flexible in real life.

As he blocked a spinning back thrust from Matatabi, Kurama noticed something. Quickly, he used his other arm and gave her a suckerpunch to her gut. It did quite a bit of damage, about a sixth of her health bar; not much but quite alright considering she was wearing armor.

And with that, the duel ended, at 2 minutes.

Huffing in annoyance, Matatabi removed a health potion from her inventory and began sucking on the opening. Motioning for him to follow her, she began walking out of town.

Several hours later, it was nearing sunset and the two players were out in the field on one of the many rolling hills around Floor 1. Currently, they were farming exp and col the old fashioned way, by killing monsters. However, the two of them...had a different idea.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!"

"...Possibly."

.

.

.

"...Actually, scratch that. I'm most definitely insane." Kurama finally admitted as he eyed the dozen or so boar that surrounded him and Matatabi. Now, under normal circumstances, the boar wouldn't warrant such a reaction from players, being extremely weak after all. Unfortunately though, Kurama decided to keep farming even as their health bars dipped into yellow, and were now in red. They used up their remaining potions as well.

Eying his katana dubiously, Kurama turned to Matatabi and decided to use his brain. "Hey, Matatabi, I'm going to try something insane.

"Well, it wouldn't be too surprising. Insane people tend to act insane after all."

Chuckling dryly, he shifted his blade to his right, starting a sword skill. As his blades glowed a luminescent red, Kurama charged.

Ducking under a boar's charge, he eviscerated it, tearing an enormous hole in the boar's underbelly. Even as the boar hit the ground and exploded into blue sparks, Kurama was already moving onto the next one. Using his blade to hold another boar in place by its tusks, Kurama proceeded to front kick it.

While the boar was barely affected, since Kurama didn't have any unarmed skills yet, his kick did stop it in place which allowed Kurama to raise his arms and brought his blade straigh into the boar's brain. Not done yet, Kurama spun to the side and used an overhead to remove the boar's head from its neck.

And so it continued, Kurama systematically destroying the boars while keeping an eye on his health gauge. Eventually his health reached the point where another hit would have killed him. Quickly disposing of the boar he was fighting, Kurama was too fatigued to react in time to the boar that was charging him from behind and would have killed him had it not been for Matatabi's quick thinking.

Jumping behind him, she charged up a sword skill and buried her daggers hilt-deep in the boar's skull. With that, the two players collapsed; the last of the boars defeated.

Huffing, his hook lying long forgotten by his side, Kurama lay panting, spread-eagled on the grass. Opening his menu, he quickly sent something over to Matatabi.

"Eh? You want to be my friend?"

"Well of course, you're a good fighter and with two of us we can do things twice as fast." He replied, giving her a smile which had her blushing. Huffing, Matatabi accepted before sitting down on the grass next to Kurama. Opening her menu, she checked her exp and col. Apparently satisfied, she turned to Kurama and said, "Well, I'm good. That's it for me, maybe I'll see you tomorrow and we can party up?"

"Sure." He replied, giving her an exhausted thumbs up before letting his arm fall back onto the ground. "I'm going to catch my breath, then log out, see ya." Nodding, Matatabi exited her inventory to log out. "Um, Kurama?"

"Yes?"

"Total n00b question...but how do I log out?"

Sitting up, Kurama opened his menu. "What're you talking about, the log out button is right...here...huh? It's gone!" Turning to look at Matatabi who appeared uneasy, he gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure it's just a bug. The game did just come out today."

"Yeah...sure."

Picking up his hooks, Kurama sheathed them and checked his stats. "Well, either way, we did get quite a bit of exp for this, I'm level 6, you?"

"Level 5. Hey, Kurama?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you feel...tingly?"

"Um...yes, actually."

Looking down at his feet, Kurama saw himself get enveloped in a burst of blue flame.

The next thing he saw was Matatabi, as well as other players, get teleported into the main square in the Town of Beginnings. Looking at each other, they came to a conclusion that whatever was going on, a GM was behind it. Who else had the ability to forcefully teleport people anyway?

Looking around, Kurama felt a slight tugging on his sleeve, turning to see Matatabi, he noticed her pointing at something silently. "Um...Kurama, what the hell is that?" Swivelling, Kurama saw a small red hexagon in the sky; while it was too far to see the message on it clearly, red messages in games rarely have good news, actually red messages in general often have bad news.

Suddenly, the red hexagon multiplied, the hexagons filling the sky, painting it an ominous crimson; it actually looked like the sky was bleeding. Then, strands of...blood? Began seeping out from in between the hexagons.

"Ew."

"The sky is...bleeding? That's disturbing and disgusting at the same time."

As more crimson...stuff kept leaking out it eventually formed into the hooded form of a GM.

"That, is just gross. I hope that won't happen every time a GM appears."

Spreading his arms, the GM spoke in a deep and emotionless voice. "Welcome, I, Kayaba Akihiko welcome each and every one of you to Sword Art Online. Now, most of you are probably wondering why your log out options are missing. It is not a bug. I repeat. It is an _intended_ feature of SAO. Now the only way to log out of SAO is to beat all 100 Floors of the game. If someone on the outside world attempts to shut down or remove the NerveGear, it will release an intense burst of microwaves that will _fry your brain._ Now, this will also happen if you die in game, so keep that in mind."

Kurama, who had been listening to Kayaba with curiosity had nearly fallen over at that last sentence. '_I was...so close...to death. I was literally an inch from death, both in here, and in the real world.'_ He was jerked out of his thoughts when a hand landed on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Matatabi give him a reassuring nod, an unnaturally serious look on her face.

Conveying his thanks in a nod, Kurama continued listening.

"-Now, I took the liberty of adding something in your item storage. Think of it as a present from me. Please. See for yourselves."

Blinking in surprise, Kurama opened his item storage menu and sure enough, there was an item that he hadn't picked up. '_A mirror?'_

Frowning, he held it to his face, not seeing a reaction, he looked around. As other players were enveloped in a blue flame, much like when they were teleported, Kurama stood there, wondering what was going on before he too was enveloped in a blue flame.

"Kurama?"

"Mata...tabi?"

Instead of the elf-like delicate woman from earlier, Matatabi was different, much different.

Now her electric yellow hair was pulled into a braid that went down to her tailbone and was covered in bandages. Her facial features seemed more defined, a little more natural. Her emerald green eyes were now slanted like a cat's and heterochromiac, a vibrant electric blue in her left eye and a deep forest green in her right. She also seemed to be a little younger. Now Kurama would put her at around 16 or so, instead of the woman in her mid-twenties originally. Her body also became more toned, a little more lithe and her C-cup breasts shrunk to a B-cup, despite that she still kept a figure that would make most women green from envy. Kurama also noted that her height was the same, a good 170 or so cm.

Violently shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Kurama decided to ask, "Matatabi, is that you?"  
She nodded and repeated the question. This caused Kurama to start and looked in his mirror before dropping it in surprise.

His face was now slimmer, a little less baby fat, his features were the same but his hair now had silver highlights from grey hair. His hair that went to his neck previously was now brushing his shoulders like a lion's mane.

"What do you think happened?"

"I'm, not sure. I think we were reverted to what we look like naturally."

"How? I get the face, but our body shape?"

"Um...oh! Remember when we first booted up our NerveGears, we had to pat ourselves down, I bet that's where he got our measurements."

Suppressing a shiver, Kurama nodded. It appears Matatabi's voice had changed as well, it was now a husky purr that he _really_ didn't want to have to deal with, teenage hormones and all. Noticing movement out of the corner of his eye, Kurama decided to follow the lead of the black-haired swordsman and dragged Matatabi out of the square.

Pulling her into an alleyway, the tables were turned when Matatabi pushed him up against the wall and pinned his hands with hers. Leaning in the whispered in his ear, her husky purr sending chills down his spine, "My my, aren't we forward hmm? _Ku-ra-ma-kun_?"

Shivering badly, Kurama decided that two could play at that game and switched their positions. Leaning down so his hot breath could tickle her ear, Kurama tried his hand at a seductive growl, which worked judging by the redness of Matatabi's face. "I don't see you _complaining_, perhaps you enjoy this? Would you like your own _little show,_ Ma-ta-ta-bi-_chan_?" Straightening, Kurama chuckled at the expression on her face. Flushed cheeks, mouth parted slightly and eyes glazed over.

Smiling, he opened his menu.

Matatabi was shaken from her private thoughts when a request made itself known by pinging lightly. As she read it, it crossed her mind that Kurama was a dangerous man, very _dangerous_ indeed.

"A party request? Why?"

"You forgot my reasoning already? We have a better chance of surviving if we do it together."

"But the circumstances are entirely different, don't you want the farming spots and drops all to yourself?"

"Yes, I do. But I want my friend to survive more."

Looking at the smirking teen in surprise, Matatabi looked at the invitation in front of her and ignored the fluttering in her chest. Cupping the area over her heart lightly, she pondered his request. '_Friends?'_ Her grip tightened.

Smirking wider, Kurama nodded before turning around and heading off, his new party member in tow.

"Well, off we go, Matatabi."

"...Yugito."

"Huh?"

"Yugito. My name's Nii Yugito."

"Well then, Yugito, let's head over to the first town. We can farm on the way and spend the night there. Oh, and my name's Namikaze Naruto. Use it."

"Understood, Namikaze-san."

"Maa maa, Namikaze-san is my father, Naruto if you please. And drop the -san, I'm not that old, despite my grey hairs."

"Alright then, Naruto."

* * *

It was a week later while they were sitting at an Inn eating dinner that Yugito finally asked Naruto something that was weighing on her mind.

"A Beta-Tester?"

"Yes, are you a Beta-tester?"

Taking a slow sip from the tea he was drinking, Naruto sighed audibly before setting it down and lacing his fingers together with his elbows resting on the table, resting his head on them. "Would it bother you if I was?" Looking at her food, Yugito seemed to slump slightly before straightening and replying, "No. It wouldn't. I'm just surprised that a beta would even bother taking a party member. I figured most would have just went solo like that other one we met along the road. Coper."

Closing his eyes, Naruto looked even more like an old man than he already did at that moment, picking up his cup, he spun it gently and observed the dregs swirling inside. "Yes. Yes I am a Beta-tester. As for party members, I feel that two people at level 15 would have a better chance of surviving than one person at level 25. Honestly, solo players are people who either haven't had the whole "death game" thing sink in yet or they decided that training themselves into the ground to make themselves stronger and avoid bonds with other people. Because with every bond you form there's always a risk that the bond will be severed, even more so in this world."

Draining the cup, he paused to watch Yugito over its rim.

"And yourself?"

Chewing slowly, Yugito swallowed before answering. "I'm no beta-tester, but my sister was. She went on and on about SAO so I decided to sneak into her room one day during the test phase and try it out. I was overcome with empathy for my sister, why she loved this game so. It helped us grow closer, I suppose. We only could afford a single NerveGear though, so I only played that once. But when my sister was called away for work on the day of the launch she told me I could use the NerveGear until she returned, so here I am."

Nodding, Naruto set his cup down lightly and walked off, pausing to say. "I'll let you eat in peace, if you need me I'll be up in the room planning our next route." Yugito remained silent, slowly sipping her tea. After he left she unsheathed one of her butterfly swords and inspected it, looking for something that wasn't there. Sighing, she sheathed it and drained her cup before standing up and ambling towards the stairs.

* * *

A month passed, a month of farming and exploring for the pair of blondes. During that time, they managed to find some interesting things. Naruto now wore some light metal armguards that were a dull silvery colour. He also got into blacksmithing and forged the armguards himself, as well as a new blade called Tigerlily. It was a silvery metal with black leather-wrapped grip and red guard, a simple look but they were much more powerful and accurate than his original Iron Katana, he also upgraded it to +8.

Yugito was also using a new pair of Butterfly swords that she obtained via monster drop while they were clearing a dungeon. They were a little broader than her originals, having a wide and strong blade to absorb force Naruto said. Naruto also upgraded it to +6. Her blades were named Resolve and Guardian.

They both wore hooded cloaks that Yugito made with her sewing ability. Currently Yugito's was a deep bluish-black with a silver clasp that increased her speed by 3 and Naruto's was forest green with a black clasp and upped his speed by 2 and his hiding by 1. They also traded their default armor for some that they made. Yugito sewed some cloth armor that acted as tunics and pants while Naruto forged his arm guards and a light metal breastplate. Naruto was wearing a black tunic with orange stitching and grey pants and normal leather boots. Yugito had a colour scheme of blue with purple stitching but other than that her attire was identical to Naruto's. Both wore light metal breastplates that were a light silver colour, similar to aluminium as Naruto noted.

Currently they were wandering Tolbana, attempting to find the meeting place for the day's strategy meeting for the first boss, called by a man named Diavel. Yugito informed Naruto that his name was actually italian for devil in one of the dialects, when he asked how she knew she simply replied that she was a woman of many talents.

Diavel wore a sky-blue tunic with the left portion extending to his knee. He also used a small, hand-held kite shield and a broadsword that hung from his left hip. He also wore a bronze chestplate, should and armguards and had blue hair, well he had...quirks.

"You idiot!"

"Gah! What did I do?!"

"When Diavel-san told us of the meeting in Tolbana you didn't even ask where it was!"

"How is that my fault?! It's not like you asked either!"

"Ano...I know where the meeting place is."

The two blondes whipped their heads around so fast Kirito thought they would have whiplash. Seeing the telltale signs of feminine fury, Kirito decided to have pity on the blonde male and nodded. "It's at the arena near the town square. I'm heading there myself actually, so I wouldn't mind showing you guys the way."

Smiling sweetly, Yugito nodded happily. "Thank you…"

"Kirito."

"Kirito-san. It's nice to have someone competent around for a change."

"I agree-ouch! Damn woman, you're really taking advantage of the whole 'one's health cannot drop in a safe zone, aren't you'!"

Sweatdropping, Kirito shrugged and motioned for them to follow him.

A few minutes later, they found the main square. After bidding Kirito goodbye as he left to go and eat something before the meeting, Yugito and Naruto found a shaded corner due to a balcony above them and sat down for a chat.

"So, what do you think of our guide?"

"He seems alright, a little socially awkward though, judging by his body language."

"Hm...you of all people should know body language can be faked, Yugito."

"True, he's probably a beta though, that Anneal Blade of his is from a quest. And that information isn't in the guidebook. Meaning he got lucky or he's a beta."

Nodding, Naruto fingered the handle on his blade as he scanned the square.

"Still, we should keep an eye on him. Such a strong player will be a valuable ally or a dangerous enemy. But Diavel, that guy...there's something not right about him."

Giving him an almost imperceptible nod, Yugito was about to say something when the brass bell in the clock tower rang, signalling the start of the meeting. Standing up and brushing some imaginary dirt off of his clothes, Naruto extended his hand to Yugito which she quickly took and pulled herself up.

After seating themselves on the higher seats of the amphitheatre, Naruto and Yugito nodded to each other before raising their hoods. As Naruto scanned the theatre for potential allies, Yugito listened to Diavel. As his gaze wandered towards his left, Naruto noticed someone, or rather _someones_. Kirito the player from before as well as a figure in a hooded maroon cloak.

A tap on the shoulder jerked Naruto out of his thoughts. Turning to Yugito, she filled him in on what she knew.

"Diavel-san is a sweeper/off-tank. He's using the best heavy metal armor we can get on this floor, according to the guide Argo made. We're to form parties. That spiky carrot top in the front? His name is Kibaou, he's one of the people who hate the Beta-testers, although he seems to want power for his character as well. The giant in the front row with the wicked axe is Agil. He seems level-headed and reasonable. We're going to convene in the main square by the fountain in five minutes for Diavel to check our parties and assign us roles."

Nodding his thanks, Naruto decided to share his information as well. Discretely nodding towards Kirito and his hooded companion, he shared.

"See them? Kirito and his partner. They know each other from before, judging by their body language when they were seated. I noticed the other one's weapon as he stood up, it looks like a sword. Judging by the guard I could see, it's a rapier. And quite a good one too, not the run-of-the-mill Iron Rapier you can buy in the shop. I'd be willing to bet it's a Wind Fleuret. They're probably sweepers."

Satisfied with the newfound information, the two blondes left to go and meet up with the other members of the raid.

* * *

As Naruto and Yugito sat in the grass with the other raid members, they observed Diavel. He seemed to be a natural leader, charismatic and kind. However Yugito noticed him sending dark looks over to Kirito when nobody was watching, nobody but her anyway. They concluded that he was the type of player who wanted glory and recognition, although he also truly was trying his best to lead and clear the game.

Naruto eventually suggested they keep an eye on him but not to look into a long-term alliance with him. When Yugito asked he simply replied that those sort of people were likely to stab them in the back if they gained too much power. Yugito, noting that it seemed to drag up unwanted memories, wisely kept her mouth shut.

Jerking back into the present by Diavel, Naruto gave his utmost attention. Meaning he used one ear to listen to Diavel and the other on the conversations happening around them. "Right, next-hey! It's you two, the ones I met on my way to town. Seeing as we have mostly everything sorted out, would you mind joining Squad E to help support us? It'll keep the rest of us safe while we take on the boss."

Naruto, recognizing an attempt to remove them from the frontlines and so, remove their capabilities at obtaining the last hit item, while simultaneously playing on their egos and self-importance sent him a feral smile. Despite Diavel only able see the bottom half of his face, the smile was quite intimidating.

"Sure, we'd be happy to help."

Smiling shakily, Diavel nodded and thanked them before reminding them that their partners were Kirito and his party-member Asune and that they were to meet at the gate at 10 o'clock the next morning.

After wandering around for a moment, they met up with Kirito and Asuna as they were heading to the Inn. Seeing a chance to get to know their squad members, Naruto pulled them into conversation as they had a drink at the inn.

"So, how do you guys play? I mean, if we know each other's playstyle we can modify strategies so we can operate as efficiently as possible."

Kirito took a sip of his tea before replying. "Actually...Asuna and I already have a plan. So perhaps we should work in two separate teams and spread out so we won't have to keep running back and forth."

Yugito shrugged and agreed while Naruto simply began fiddling with his skill slots.

The next morning, Yugito and Naruto were up at 8 o'clock doing some stretches to warm themselves up. After they finished, they decided to do a check on their equipment.

**Resolve+6 3S2D1H**

**Dagger/One-hand**

**Range: Very Short**

**Type: Slash**

**Attack: 38**

**Durability: 302/352**

**Weight: 5**

**Guardian+6 5D1S**

**Dagger/One-hand**

**Range: Very Short**

**Type: Slash**

**Attack: 43**

**Durability: 325/345**

**Weight: 7**

**Tigerlily 4S4D**

**Katana**

**Range: Short**

**Type: Slash**

**Attack: 55**

**Durability: 322/454**

**Weight: 13**

Satisfied that their weapons would last the duration of the boss fight, Naruto began rearranging his skills. Currently he had Listening, Detection and Light Metal Armor Forging equipped. He then switched it to Katana, Parry, One-handed Curved Sword and Light Metal Equipment.

Feeling a gentle tap on his shoulder, he turned around to see Yugito staring at him intently. Noting where her gaze lay, he sighed and said. "You want to know where my Katana Skill is from, right?"

Seeing her nod, he closed his menu and continued. "I'm not actually sure where I got it, it just popped up in my skill menu after the 3rd Floor boss in the Beta-test. I checked my skills when I first logged in and it was still there, along with some other skills, my quest-obtained skills and all of the values were reset though."

Yugito frowned, never a good sign. "So it's not just me."

"Eh?"

"Well, when I logged in my Dual Wield Daggers skill was still there, my sister unlocked it just before the test closed by leveling her one-handed dagger skill to the maximum. Which is why I use my butterfly swords."

Naruto simply shrugged and told her not to worry, if it was a glitch at least they benefited.

Finished with their preparations, the two left the inn to wait by the main gate a whole hour early. This allowed them to check the status of the other raid members. Noting that Kirito and Asuna were both early, Naruto decided to make some headway on their search for allies.

"A party request?"

Nodding, Naruto motioned to himself and Yugito before replying. "Yeah, people like us, we gotta stick together, ne?" Getting the implication behind his statement, Kirito nodded and accepted requests from both Naruto and Yugito.

"Kurama, and Matatabi? Those are odd names."

"Kurama was the name of my pet when I was a kid." Naruto honestly didn't know what possessed him to use his pet's name as his username, but he sure as hell wasn't going to use his real name and Kurama was a name that he was familiar enough with to stand getting called that by, essentially, strangers. Yugito echoed his reason.

With that, they waited for the others to arrive.

It was 10.30am before they finally set off. Naruto was sufficiently annoyed. And the person who woke up late and delayed their entire raid was none other than the spiky carrot top himself, Kibaou. Even the glory of his hair colour wouldn't save him from Naruto, honestly, if this wasn't a death game Naruto would've killed him already.

After two and a half hours, the raid party finally stood in front of the wrought iron doors of the first boss room. While Diavel gave them 10 minutes to rest, Naruto was absorbed in his own thoughts. Privately, Naruto wondered how many would survive to see the 2nd Floor, and how many would disintegrate into nothingness with a burst of blue sparks. Well, at least death in this world is beautiful, not like the outside world where the bodies are left lying where they fell, their lifeless eyes-

A hand on his shoulder jerked him out of his thoughts, turning around to see Yugito give him a reassuring nod as she always did this past month, Naruto wondered what would happen if she died; he'd likely go insane.

Conveying his thanks via a nod, Naruto unsheathed his katana.

**~Yugito POV~**

I unsheathed Resolve and Guardian. Resolve was a monster drop while Naruto made Guardian for me. The name is quite apt, in some way, Naruto guards me everytime my blade stops a killing blow or gives me the power to protect myself and my party members.

They sat comfortably in my palms, the way I fight often confuses people, a reverse grip? Preposterous. Honestly, I made this fighting style to partner with the Martial Arts skill on the next floor.

Seeing Naruto space out again, I rested my hand on his shoulder, a gesture of comfort that he wasn't alone. He seemed to get the message and nodded at me before unsheathing Tigerlily, Naruto was a secretive man; I knew this much, even after only a month. I'd be patient with him, after all, a waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us.

My attention was diverted to Diavel in the front.

"Right, just past these doors is the boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord. Now, remember the plan, squads A and B are heavy armor tank squads, you guys tank the damage the boss deals and counter-attack as hard as possible. C, D and E are high maneuverability squads, just keep attacking the boss, Squads A and B will draw the boss's hate towards them so you guys can attack freely. Squads F and G are to support the other squads in any way with your long-reaching weapons. Now! Let's kill this guy and show everyone in the Town of Beginnings that this game _can_ be cleared!"

A nice speech. If Diavel had one thing going for him it would be his charisma, I've rarely met people who can whip a crowd to a common goal with as much frenzy as him. Nodding towards Naruto, Kirito and Asuna, we all readied our weapons.

As the raid party gingerly inched our way through the doorway, we surveyed the room. It was a hall with stained glass windows and a grey-ish marble floor with the middle area filled with knots and swirls, they sort of looked like one of those old celtic designs I found on the internet.

All the way at the end of the room was a hulking shadow atop something, I'd assume it's a throne. "Kobold Lord" and all that. Suddenly, crimson eyes opened. The room was immediately flooded with light, allowing us to see the odd pattern of pale colours. In all honesty, the colours of the room looked washed out and...wrong somehow.

Even as the boss leapt from his throne, Bone Axe and Leather Buckler in hand, Squads A and B were already in front of the others. Squads C to E loosely spread out behind them and Squads F and G all the way at the back with their spears.

Illfang was certainly ugly. At over 3 meters tall it towered over even Agil. It had fur that was a deep red, the colour of rusted steel that had not yet begun to flake, and of dried blood. It was also rather bulky, built like a barrel with a large belly and small limbs, in comparison anyway, a single arm would probably be as thick as my torso and as long as I am tall.

The slow weapon and shield indicated an attack style more focused towards a tank, then again, this was a game where a petite girl not even a meter and a half could swing a battle axe like a twig, so I could be wrong.

As it roared at us, I suppressed a shiver of disgust as its heinous breath washed over us, I needed a bath as soon as this fight was over. While Illfang roared, a few blue flames erupted next to it. The Ruin Kobold Sentinels.

They, at least, were easier to deal with. Darting in once I saw Naruto pin one with and overhead which locked its weapon in place, I swung my blades together and beheaded it with the skill Pincer, not a very original name, but it worked.

Ducking under the Whirlwind of another sentinel, I briefly cursed Kayaba Akihiko for allowing demi-human monsters to use sword skills. As I used its plated torso as a launching platform, I saw Asuna switch in and use Linear on its throat. Against more monsters and players, my butterfly swords and Naruto's katana worked well, but against heavy armored opponents our weapons didn't have the precision to aim for such a small target like the neck, not with a skill and without one we might as well be hitting the armored areas.

Landing, I engaged another sentinel as Naruto ran past me, presumably to assist Asuna. As our weapons clashed, I noticed that the boss's second health bar was just depleted, prompting 3 more sentinels to spawn. Scowling in annoyance, I kicked the sentinel I was locked blades with in the groin. There was no armor there either. Unfortunately, due to the lack of pain receptors in this game, the sentinel simply got back up and kept attacking. I swear I saw that thing's eyes glow for a moment too.

"Switch!"

Jumping away, I noted Naruto taking my place. Looking around, Kirito and Asuna had just finished the original wave of sentinels and were now starting on the second new sentinel. Swivelling around to locate the last one, I bit back a curse.

Quickly sprinting behind Kibaou, I parried the sentinel's overhead swing with my blades and felt them groaning in protest, after this battle I would need to have Naruto fix our blades and armor. Quickly spinning to knock the sentinel off balance I used another Pincer and loped its arms off at the elbows, the blades continuing in their forced arc to clang dully against the sentinel's chestplate, although I noticed it did quite a bit of damage. I killed the thing by shoving Resolve through its visor.

Seeing Kibaou nodding at my to show his thanks, I allowed a small smile to escape and nodded back. Doing a quick check on the boss, I noticed that it's final health bar had just reached yellow. It appears I got distracted.

Turning around to regroup, I noticed Naruto fending off two sentinels at once while Kirito and Asuna were too occupied with their sentinel to notice. As I neared Naruto, he kicked one of the sentinels away and drew his blade down to his left hip. I quickly leapt over him as he started up Tsujikaze and kicked the sentinel sneaking behind him in the face-er-helmet.

A lack of pain receptors were indeed a double-edged sword.

Once I disposed of the last sentinel, I felt a hand on my shoulder spinning me around. I was quickly engulfed in a hug by my partner. It was times like these that I truly realized our difference in size. I was a respectable 1.73m tall but Naruto was taller still at 1.78m, he was also much more strongly built, my body being more lithe and suited towards speed and agility. Feeling myself being let go, I decided to tease the boy a little.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything, but what was that for?"

He simply smiled and shook his head before stepping back.

"NO! GET BACK!"

Whipping around, I noticed Kirito running towards the main raid group where Illfang was, seeing Diavel get hit by Illfang's Tsumujiguruma I knew he was dead. I'd seen that move performed by Naruto enough times to know that the hits hurt and the effect, Stun was deadly in a fight like this.

Sure enough, Diavel was hit by a 4-hit combo and was sent flying into the air. Seeing as Diavel was still alive, and so still held enough hate for Illfang to target him specifically, Illfang began to charge its Tsujikaze. As Diavel impacted, I noticed movement heading towards him. Kirito! The boy hadn't even realized that he was in danger. As I began to run at them, I knew I wouldn't make it in time. I simply wasn't fast enough and none of my skills worked as a gap closer. Suddenly, I was bypassed by a flash of light.

**~Narrator POV~**

'_Faster! I need to go even faster!'_

With those thoughts running through his mind, Naruto sped towards Kirito, Diavel and the rapidly approaching Illfang. Thankfully Tsujikaze wasn't a skill unique to Illfang. Their blades clashing in a shower of green sparks, Naruto felt himself getting pushing back slowly, Illfang's blade glowing a venomous green as it drew closer to his neck.

And suddenly, the pressure vanished. Yugito stood by his side, her blades glowing a pale blue that slowly faded, the remnants of a skill. As Naruto looked towards Illfang, he noticed a large X-shaped wound on it. One slash stretched from its left eye down to its collarbone while the other found its way across its chest.

As it charged forwards again, Naruto intercepted it to allow Yugito enough time to recover from the post-motion delay of using Eviscerate. Trading blows with the boss, Naruto made it a point to sidestep its blows more than block them fully. As he parried a strike from Illfang, he noticed its blade glow a light red. '_Shit!'_

Illfang then began the sequence for Hiogi. The first, rising strike caught Naruto full on and lacerated him from his left hip to opposite shoulder, throwing him back to collide with Yugito. As the two hit the floor, Yugito quickly began the motions for Eviscerate, but before she could even cross her arms Illfang was already upon them.

As Yugito braced herself for impact, she felt a breeze. Looking up, she saw Agil parrying Illfang's second strike with Whirlwind, knocking it back and up.

"ATTACK!"

Staggering to his feet, Naruto checked on Kirito to see him having a conversation with Diavel. Looking towards Illfang, Naruto felt a prickle dread arc down his spine, they had surrounded it again.

"I WON'T LET YOU!/I'LL GET YOU FIRST!"

Agil and the others could only watch as Illfang descended upon them when they heard a clang and suddenly Kurama was there; his sword glowing a venomous green, preventing Illfang from finishing its skill. An instant later, Kirito appeared and struck Illfang with Rage Spike which sent it crashing to the ground, a deep laceration running across it belly.

As Kirito stepped forward to confront Illfang, he heard sets of footsteps approach. Seeing Asuna he gave her a nod which she returned.

"We're with you guys."

"We will see this through to the end."

Nodding at Kurama and Matatabi, Kirito turned to face the boss. Charging forward, he engaged the boss in a flurry of blows while switching with Kurama repeatedly to mitigate the damage. As Kirito switched in, he parried a strike from Illfang and immediately charged up Slant. However as Illfang's blade settled with its cutting edge facing the ceiling, Illfang's eyes snapped open.

Kirito could to nothing as he watched the first strike of Hiogi came closer, then suddenly in a blur of blue and black, Matatabi was in front of him, her arms already uncoiling into Eviscerate with knocked Illfang back, then as the second strike began, Naruto intercepted it with Tsujikaze. This, however made an opening for the third strike. Kirito watched as Illfang began to perform its third strike.

Kurama was still in midair from blocking its second strike and Yugito still had to recover from using Eviscerate. Countering the thrust with Slant, Kirito switched with Asuna who used Linear. But when Asuna attempted to start the skill, Illfang managed to recover in time and sent and overhead that would have bisected Asuna.

As the blow connected, Kirito felt his eyes widen as it caught only her cloak which tore into small shreds. Long chestnut hair that reached her tailbone spilled out and hazel eyes that held a cold lethality were revealed. Asuna, in a fit of rage or exertion yelled out as she buried her rapier hilt-deep into Illfang with Linear. The game mechanics ensuring that Illfang was sent rocketing across the hall.

Seeing Kurama and Matatabi still recovering, Kirito decided to attack first with Asuna.

Knocking Illfang's blade away with the first strike of Vertical Arc giving Asuna the chance to get another Linear in, Kirito screamed as he finished his skill. Running his blade up from Illfang's right hip to its face, cleaving it two.

As it disintegrated into nothingness, Kirito landed on the ground. Panting heavily with exhaustion and disbelief. They had did it, the first floor was cleared.

As leaned back onto his haunches, he was joined by Kurama, Matatabi, Asuna and Agil. The giant patted him on the shoulder surprisingly gently and gestured to the others behind him. As he did so, Asuna gave a chirp of, "Good work."

"That was excellent swordsmanship skills. Congratulations. This victory belongs to you."

"No I-"

"Why?! Why did you let Diavel die?!"

Seeing questioning looks being shot his way, Kibaou leveled an accusatory finger at Kirito. "You! You knew that skill! If you had told us beforehand, Diavel wouldn't have died! You...you're a beta-tester, aren't you!"

Seeing the paranoia and doubt setting in, Naruto tried his best to defend his comrade. "Of course he knew that skill! I use a katana, the same weapon-type as the boss's Nodachi! Kirito knew about the skill, but he didn't know that Illfang would have a nodachi. His quick thinking is something to be admired. It doesn't matter if he was a beta-tester or not. As Agil-san said in the meeting yesterday, the information booklet is compiled by the testers. They didn't know about Illfang's equipment change any more than we did."

Seeing the mutterings increase, but now instead of hostility it was more of uncertainty, a single push could send the argument one way or another. Just as Naruto was about to put the final push to set the argument in Kirito's favour, laughter echoed throughout the room. A harsh, insane laughter. Almost as one, all eyes were one the black-haired swordsman.

"A beta-tester? Now, I wish you guys wouldn't confuse me with those worthless losers. The 1000 testers are newbies, losers who didn't even know how to level or fight properly. So I must say, I'm impressed. You guys are far better than they are. See, the thing is: _I'm not like the others. _In the beta-test, I made it higher than any other tester in the game.

I knew that skill, correct. However, that was because when I made it higher, I fought monsters who used that skill. Whether that guy uses it or not is redundant, even if he is in my party. I know more about this game than anyone else, save Kayaba Akihiko. Way more than any beta-tester or information broker."

At this point, Kirito had walked right up to Kibaou and was leering at him with a twisted sneer. Kibaou, nearly catatonic from shock, could only do what came naturally to him. Make the situation worse.

"Tha-That's...no! You're not a...you're not even a beta-tester, you're far worse! You're a cheater!"

As agitated murmurs broke out amongst the group, each throwing out names and derogatory remarks, Kirito listened until one caught his fancy.

"Beater...huh? I like it! From now on I am a beater. Don't confuse me with the other worthless testers." Equipping the item he received from the last-hit bonus, Kirito allowed the cloak to envelop him. Quickly changing the aura around him to a more sinister one. Cloak of Midnight, what an apt name.

With a final smug smirk tossed over his shoulder, Kirito strode out of the boss room to open the gateway to the new floor. Frowning, Naruto nodded to Kirito and made a rolling motion with his shoulder. Understanding what he meant, Yugito left the room, Asuna right behind her.

After they left, Naruto noticed Agil looking at the doorway Kirito went into with...respect shining in his eyes. Naruto breathed an imaginary sigh of relief. At least it wasn't a total waste. Unfortunately, his attention was drawn elsewhere.

"That damn beater! He's gonna die! I'm gonna kill him!"

Frowning under his cloak, Naruto decided something that would forever shape him. '_I cannot allow Kirito to bear the burden of the hate of the players alone. I will help shoulder that burden, even if I am to be hated as well.' _

As Kibaou palmed his sword before turning to head for the exit, he felt a gust of wind before a cold point was at his neck. He gulped, cutting himself more on the blade.

In front of his was that cloaked player with a katana, said katana digging into his neck. Before he couldn't see anything above the man's lips, but now he wished he only saw his lips. Under the hood was a monster of a man. His face pulled back into a feral snarl and those whisker marks, like an animal. But worse were the eyes, those glacial orbs staring at him-no. Staring _through _him. Seeing through him to look at his soul. As if he had been reading his mind, the monster's snarl became more pronounced, as if he had found something in Kibaou's soul wanting.

"I do not care if he's a beta-tester, cheater or both. I have honor, as well as an inability to suffer fools. You wish to kill someone for merely being different, and that _someone_ is my comrade; 'Beater' or not. I do not take lightly to those who insult my comrades. The only thing that keeps me from seperating your head from your worthless excuse for a body is that I can't be bothered to do so.

Be glad. _Kibaou_. Be very glad. Today your life is spared at my whim, and so it can be taken by a whim. Pray we do not meet again. I may not be so merciful the next time, and if I'm not, the last thing you'll ever see is my blade. Heading for your neck."

Pulling his blade back, Naruto tsked in disgust as Kibaou collapsed, his legs unable to support him from the onslaught of Killing Intent he had been subconsciously releasing. Huffing in loathing, he stalked off, flicking his katana as if to remove some blood before sheathing it on his back.

"W-Wait! Who, no, _what_ are you?"

Turning his head so they could see the vicious smirk on his face, Naruto decided on a name. Something he wouldn't mind being called.

"Hunter. I am Hunter. And I am on the prowl."

* * *

**A/N: Done! That was a really nice chapter for me to write. Now, before anyone asks why Naruto decided to paint a neon target on his back, think about it. It's Naruto. He'd be unable to allow someone he considers a comrade to bear such enormous burden alone. I also changed his personality. This Naruto is the epitome of a shinobi in my opinion. Hunter wiping out a guild will come either the next chapter or the one after. As for pairings...leaning towards Suguha.**

**A/N: Update, someone told me that I said hooks a few times, my fault sorry.**

Namikaze Naruto/Kurama - Hunter

Sweeper (Damage-Dealer/Bruiser)

Weapon: Tigerlily Katana-type, Slash category. Silver blade with red guard and black grip.

Equipment: Forest green cloak, light metal chestplate+armguards. Black and orange tunic, grey pants, leather boots.

Skills: Light Metal Armor Forging Katana Slash Weapons Forging Equipment Appraisal Weapon Appraisal Hiding Listening Acrobatics Battle Healing Parry Light Metal Equipment

Nii Yugito/Matatabi

Sweeper (Damage-Dealer/Bruiser)

Weapons: Resolve Dagger-type, Slash category. Silver blade with silver hand+finger guard. Black leather grip. Wielded in the left hand. Monster drop.

Protector Dagger-type, Slash category. Silver blade with golden hand+finger guard. Black leather grip. Wielded in right hand. Player-forged item.

_**Original Skills:**_

Eviscerate: Dual Wield Daggers skill. 2-hit combo. User crossed their arms as if to block a blow. A double X-shaped slash to a target at close range starting from high to low. Has a 0.4s windup time and a 3s penalty.

Pincer: Dual Wield Daggers skill. 2-hit combo. User opens arms as if with the intent to hug someone. Blades are flipped into a reverse grip and arms are swung together. Has a 0.2s windup time and a 0.1s penalty.


	4. Chapter 2: Ichibi

**A/N: I'm glad everyone enjoyed my previous chapter. To clarify: A cast time** **is the amount of time a position must be held for a skill to activate. If it was instant we'd have skills flying left and right. A penalty is the amount of recovery-time after a skill where the user is unable to move or attack. **

**I dunno...people are pretty keen towards both Yugito and Suguha...but I know how to fit them both in. At earliest an actual pairing would happen would be at the 25th Floor, the floor when KoB was founded. Latest would be during GGO. So you guys have until the 25th Floor to sway me towards someone.**

**AE-Kurisu: Man, this guy. He's the reason for me continuing to write, well. People like him. As an answer to his questions (In order):**

**1. What would make Naruto **_**want**_**to wipe out a guild? Nothing. But he does. Why? read to find out. :p**

**2. Things happened IRL for Naruto to be wary of certain people, what happened will be addressed at a later date, as well as the backstory of Yugito.**

**3. See 2.**

**4. Damn! I knew I should've waited to introduce Yugito! I just gave the whole bloody thing away. Yes, the nine junchurriki will be in a guild. Whether all nine survive SAO...that's totally different.**

**Next: I realize Naruto's skill list is hard to follow. I'll fix that by adding the descriptions for his skills in another chapter I'll post after the prologue.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Ichibi**

"Naru-bou~"

"Hmfph…'Naru-bou'"?

"Shut it Yugito!"

Huffing in annoyance, Naruto turned from his travelling companion to stare at the diminutive girl in front of him. Currently Yugito had forgone her hood for the moment and were enjoying the cool mountainous breeze as they trekked towards the first town on the second floor, at least, they _were_ heading towards the first town, now however, they were heading up some god-forsaken mountain at the _opposite_ end of the floor to their destination.

They had then ran into Argo the Rat who was being chased by two members of the Ninja clan, Fuumanigan, who they had chased off with the help of a surprisingly useful Trembling Cow ;the female version of the common Trembling Ox on this floor. The Trembling monsters, Ox or Cow, never stopped chasing its target until either it died or its target did. So, technically, by allowing the Trembling Cow to chase the two ninja it was considered indirect PKing. Although Naruto was sure nobody would mind, taking on a Trembling Cow with two people was suicide, especially considering they were fresh from the 1st Floor.

After the ninja left, Argo had...for lack of a better word, _attached_ (read: glomped) herself to Naruto and was rubbing their whisker marks together, which led to their present situation.

"Argo, what were those two chasing you for? Scam someone again?"

"Wha-no! I don't scam people, information brokers have pride too!"

"Really...then what was that business about a rare Trembling-"

"Shu-Shut up! That was in the Beta!"

Yugito stared, her head whipping back and forth like a spectator of a tennis match as the two whiskered teens argued, their insults and points getting more and more childish until they degraded into wrestling. She couldn't help but giggle.

The sounds of tinkling laughter filled the air as Yugito giggled, not noticing that the two childish teenagers had stopped wrestling. Smiling fondly, Naruto tapped her on the shoulder gently to get her attention and offered his hand to her.

Honestly, Yugito was not perfect. She had a foul-temper when enraged, hated getting up before sunrise and was addicted to milk and sushi, spending a good amount of their money on it. But she was also kind, sweet and empathetic. She also looked adorable when she had a milk mustache, something he couldn't help but laugh at which made her laugh as well. He also realized that her beauty was a rather feral and intimidating one, something that caused most people some unease. But then again, who was he to judge; the one with jagged whisker marks and hair like lion's mane.

Honestly, he wouldn't have her any other way.

Using Naruto's hand to pull herself up, Yugito dusted herself off before turning to Argo. "So, Argo-san, how do you know Naruto? From what I understand you guys were in the beta together, but how's you get Naruto to tell you his real name?"

Argo had seated herself down by one of the cold streams that winded around the mountains on this floor and had dipped her feet in them, splashing water playfully. As she opened her mouth to speak she noticed a friend request from Naruto, accepting it and sending one to Yugito she gave her story.

"Well, my first meeting with Naru-bou was actually similar to this one. It involved me being chased and him running into me and-"

"And I saved her sorry ass.

"Urusai. Baka-Naru-bou. Anyway, we travelled for a while and eventually I became an information broker with Naru-bou as one of my informants."

"Unpaid slave is more like it…"

"_Anyway_, he eventually told me his name a few days before the beta ended."

As Argo told her story, Yugito kept her ears open while she analyzed Argo. Argo is a petite girl with an odd shade of pale green hair that she kept short, the ends of it a few centimeters from her shoulders. '"_The Rat", huh? An apt name.'_ It truly was, Argo's small stature, facial features, even the whisker marks on her cheeks gave the distinct impression of a rat or some other mousey creature. She had dull purple eyes that looked grey when not under direct sunlight like she was now.

Argo had a black choker with silver trimmings on as well as her distinct beige cloak that kept her uniform hidden from view. Although now that she had manually removed is and sat on it, Yugito could see what she wore underneath.

With her bulky cloak removed Argo looked even smaller than the normally did. She wore a black tunic that extended all the way down to her ankles with dull green highlights and two grey lines running vertically down her chest to her belt. Underneath she wore baggy grey pants, much like Naruto did, that were tucked into hard leather boots that she removed as she splashed water. She also had metal claws hanging by her belt on her left waist and some throwing nails on her right. In all honesty...Argo looked to be more of a shady character than a self-respecting informant...then again it _is _Argo, no one knows _how_ she gets her information, just that she does.

Staring at Argo, Naruto was overcome by the urge to know how and where she got her whiskers. She had them in the beta as well, meaning that they meant something to her. Argo isn't the type to waste effort after all, and to purposely apply those whiskers again...they meant something to her.

"You want to know how I got my whiskers right, Naru-bou?"

Only slightly sheepish she caught him, Naruto nodded.

Huffing, she got up and re-equipped her boots and picked up her cloak. Throwing onto her shoulders, she spun off, motioning for them to follow her. "I'll do better than just tell you guys, I'll show you. Besides, the place we're headed to isn't too far from here and it's a safe area for us to spend the night. These mountains are treacherous in the dark. If the craggy cliffs and ledges don't get you, the increasingly hostile monsters will, even for the three of us."

Nodding, Naruto re-equipped his cloak; never know when the extra Hiding points will help. Yugito just sighed and pulled her hood up.

Making their way up a twisting path up the mountain, and having a close shave with a pissed off Trembling Cow, Argo managed to get them to a small flat outcropping around the middle of the mountain among the numerous pine trees.

Collapsing to her knees in exhaustion, Yugito sat on the grass and panted heavily. After a few minutes of resting, the three players made their way to the end of the outcropping at Argo's lead. Staring at a dinky dilapidated shack, Naruto just blinked before shrugging. A safe area is a safe area, no matter how it looks, and Argo hadn't lead him astray….so far.

Knocking softly on the door, more out of fear that the shack would collapse than actual courtesy, Argo waited. Naruto behind her with Yugito's arm thrown over his shoulders and leaning heavily on him. Several minutes later, the door was opened by an NPC. How they knew it was an NPC? The man looked like he was better suited to a retirement home than SAO, and there were no elderly in the game. Middle aged yes, but this man looked old enough to have been the father of Oda Nobunaga.

Then there was also the matter of the large blinking question mark above his head.

Glancing at Argo curiously, Naruto shrugged and walked up to the man, Yugito still supported on his shoulders. Walking up to the NPC, Naruto was prompted by a small message.

**The Old Ways Quest**

**Accept | Decline**

Looking dubiously at Argo, Naruto decided to trust her when she nodded and accepted the quest. Immediately the old man seemed to stand straighter, be filled with more life.

"Oh hoho, it's rare such young ones find their way up here. Now, I require some assistance, follow me please." With that done, the decrepit old man hobbled away towards a small path amongst the trees they hadn't noticed before.

Coming to a clearing where some grunts and cracking noises were originating, the old man stopped in the middle of the clearing where three enormous boulders sat innocently. Each was almost 2 meters in height and 1.5m in girth. Currently two were unoccupied and the third was being worked on by a familiar black-haired swordsman.

Motioning towards the two unoccupied rocks, the old man began speaking again. "In my youth I used to be an extraordinary fighter. Why, I was even capable of breaking rocks such as these with my bear hands. I need stone for construction, however, these were the only ones of the required type I could find. And, as you can see, they are too large. So my request is that you youngsters shatter these rocks into at least 3 pieces using your hands. I'll reward you generously for it. You may use my home to as you wish, now, as a form of guarantee…"

Whipping around with surprising speed, he proceeded to use his middle three fingers of each hand to paint whisker marks on their cheeks. Chuckling, he quickly wiped the paint off his hands with a rag and bid them goodbye. "Come back when you've completed the task young'uns. Oh, and a word of warning, if you cannot break the rocks in a week the paint will be permanent. Only I can remove the paint, and I will only do so within a week."

Face palming, Naruto turned to Argo who was watching them with a sadistic smirk. "You _knew, _you knew this would happen."

"Well, yes. I did this quest myself, remember?"

"_AND YET, YOU NEVER SAW FIT TO WARN US?!_"

"Meh, it would have been less funny that way, I mean, did you see your faces? Yugito's especially! Don't you guys know that when one party member accepts a quest in this game all party members are pulled into it."

"God dammit Argo! I already have whisker marks! I don't need a second set!"

At this Argo finally broke down into hysterical laughter, rolling about in the grass.

Fuming quietly, Naruto proceeded to unequip his cloak and lay Yugito onto the grass. Looking at her inquisitively, he wondered why she was still so tired.

"You...you didn't have to distract a Trembling Cow for an hour...that thing is relentless." Making a soft 'oh' noise, Naruto shot her an appreciative smile and materialized his cloak. Folding it, he tucked it under her head and patted her on the shoulder before turning back to the rock. As he was about to strike it, a thought popped up into his mind. "How'd you end up getting rid of that Trembling Cow anyway?"

"They suck at turning, and it just so happened I was standing near a ledge. Their loot is good though, I'm level 19 already."

Nodding, Naruto turned back to the rock and sighed. '_I am soo glad there aren't any pain receptors in this game.'_

The next morning, the four of them were sitting by a fire pit at the old man's house and roasting some of Trembling Ox's Meat they looted on the spit. Yugito was serenely sipping some of the Trembling Cow's Milk she had, relishing in the sweet flavour as the two males tried their best to keep the meat from burning, somewhat successfully.

Argo had left at first light to head for Urbus, the main town on the floor, throwing out a recommendation for the Tremble Shortcake at one of the inns at the northeast corner of the town.

As they ate the well-done meat, Naruto sat against a tree trunk near the fire, munching on the meat and some of the milk Yugito shared. Thankfully there was a stream a few minutes from the shack so they decided to fill some of their containers before heading off to work on the rocks.

While they worked, they also swapped stories and information to pass the time, Naruto found a good friend in the nice but socially awkward Kirito that day and sent him a friend request along with Yugito. Naruto also found out that Kirito had found the quest because of Argo whom he bought the information from on the previous floor. Yugito regaled Kirito with her first meeting with Naruto, sending the boy into hysterical laughter while Naruto sulked, mumbling that it was an accident; and subsequently getting teased by Kirito and...let's not get into what Yugito said to him, one experience being a blonde tomato was enough.

**~Several Hours Later~**

"..."

"..."

"That's it!"

Taking Tigerlily, proceeding to smack the rock with it, carving out a large amount of its durability. Staring flames, daggers and other unmentionable things at the boulder that sat there, no worse for wear than when he started, Naruto was about to hit it again before a gentle but firm hand caught his forearm.

Shaking her head at his antics, Yugito forced Tigerlily back into its sheath. Giving him some of the tea that they made, Yugito asked him to cool down. After he finished the tea, Naruto stood in front of the rock, however unlike before he was calm and focused. Focused for him at least.

Closing his eyes, he pretended that the target in front of his was not a rock, but a raven-haired boy. Staring at his mind's representation of the boy, Naruto gritted his teeth. '_Sasuke...' _Flying forward, Naruto proceeded to begin hitting the target with as much ferocity as before; only this time his anger was calmer, more controlled, less like the unbridled feral rage he showed before.

Naruto was so out of it that he never realized that both Yugito and Kirito had stopped hitting their rocks and were now watching him. '_Why, Sasuke? Why did you do that...'_ Landing a particularly nasty combo, Naruto stopped and stared at the rock, now seeing it instead of a raven-haired boy previously.

"H-How?"

"Eh?"

Blinking in surprise that both Kirito and Yugito were staring at him intently, Naruto backed away slowly, especially since Yugito was invading his personal space with an intense gaze. And as her party member/partner, he knew that _that _gaze only came out when she was deeply interesting in something, or she really wanted to kill the thing she was staring at. Neither of which boded well for him.

"How'd you do that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I think what she means, Naruto, is how you attacked the rock. You were a blur to me, I could barely follow you move."

Realizing that they meant, Naruto found that their surprise was well founded. He himself was surprised. In SAO, certain things, such as the skill a player uses a weapon with no sword skills transfer from the player's real body to the avatar in game. Eg. A Kendo practitioner, will naturally have more skill with a sword than someone who has never held a sword in their lives. Simply because the kendo player has prior practice and unlike other MMORPGs, you can't just auto attack a monster.

However certain skills don't transfer, such as a player's strength and ability to jump, because all players physical stats such as those are reset when they enter for the first time. However skills such as the fluidity a player can wield a blade is affected by their previous experience, not counting sword skills.

Most things such as the experience and ability a player wield their weapon is minor, they gain experience in the game after all, but things like intelligence, reflexes and the ability to fully utilize one's skill in the game are more important, and a greatly affected by a player's own intelligence. Naruto knew that for all the amazing things SAO could do, increasing a player's intelligence is not one of them. Just look at all the stupid players running around like headless chickens, Kibaou being the most prominent.

Evidently martial prowess is another thing that is transferred from player to player.

Idly scratching one of his painted whisker marks, they caused his actual ones to itch, Naruto sheepishly replied, "Um...I have a high Acrobatics stat?" Noticing the deadpan stares from both of them, Naruto sighed before he became serious. "Look, I am a martial arts practitioner, like how Kirito is a Kendo practitioner." Seeing said swordsman's shock, Naruto chuckled before continuing, "Don't think I haven't noticed. Many of your moves and stances add up to Kendo movements, quite advanced ones too."

His face scrunched up in great concentration, Kirito came to a startling conclusion. '_Blonde hair. Blue eyes. A background in kendo and martial arts. The name Naruto...'_ "You...your Namikaze Naruto, son of Uzumaki Kushina the Akai Chishio no Habanero, renowned Kendo Mistress and Namikaze Minato the Kiiroi Senko, a famous martial artist."

"Very good, _Kirigaya Kazuto_. Very good indeed." Giving his trademark vulpine smirk, Naruto turned to a near catatonic Yugito and gently cupped her face to get her attention. Seeing her eyes snap to focus on him, Naruto smiled gently, a normal smile not a vulpine one. Sending the message to calm Yugito down.

Kirito on the other hand, had stopped moving totally.

_~Flashback~_

_A young black-haired boy stood silently, staring at the scoreboard blankly. _

_**Red 2 : Blue 3**_

_He had lost. For the very first time in his 4 year kendo career, he had lost. _

_Feeling a gentle tap on his shoulder, he turned to see his opponent, a boy only a year older than himself with piercing blue eyes and strange markings on his cheeks that were obscured by his mask.; his opponent. His attention was then brought to the hand being held out in front of him._

_Grasping it firmly, he allowed his opponent to lead the handshake. Disengaging, the black-haired boy watched his opponent bow courteously before smirking ferally and turning around. Not even pausing as he called over his shoulder. _

"_Very good, Kirigaya Kazuto. Very good indeed. Come find me again when you've improved, I look forward to facing you in the ring once more."_

_Kazuto began moving forward to chase his opponent but was blocked by a crowd of people moving past him to the refreshments area of the hall. _'I never even found out his name...'

_~Flashback End~_

"You...you were the one I fought in a kendo tournament 4 years ago, my last."

Frowning sadly, Naruto answered him without turning away from Yugito, a noticeable note of sadness in his voice. "Oh, you stopped? That's a real pity. I was looking forward to facing you by the blade again, you had real talent. But I'm actually surprised you remember, kids at our age back then rarely remember stuff like that for 4 years."

Turning around, Naruto sighed before he gestured for them to sit.

As they sat on the grass and drank some water, Naruto sighed again, capped his bottle and dematerialized it and flopped onto the grass to stare at the clouds. He was silent for a moment before he decided to begin. "Well, I've been doing a couple of martial arts forms since I was young, influence of my father and all that. But the main one I decided to pursue is Tae Kwon Do, or rather, my version of it."

Seeing their nonplussed expressions, Naruto figured he ought to elaborate. "See, Tae Kwon Do, like most martial arts, is mainly used for competitions and not for fighting in the streets or otherwise. The main problem is that when you get into a bad situation in the streets your opponents aren't going to play by the rules, or even try and fight you bare-handed. So I learn Tae Kwon Do in a dojo as per normal, but I practice some moves that are illegal in tournaments. Kicking someone in the balls being one of them. My perverted ass of a godfather helps with that. He served in the Japanese Army for a few decades way back when."

"But, why wouldn't your father help you with your training?"

At this question Naruto's face darkened and Yugito almost regretted asking. "Yugito...can I keep that a secret just a while longer? When we're a quarter of the way done I'll tell you everything, I promise." Nodding, she was relieved to see Naruto's expression lighten to a more normal one, a dark expression just didn't fit him.

Naruto then stood up and stretched before he went to work on his boulder again, leaving Yugito and Kirito to their thoughts. After a few minutes of silence Yugito left to work on her rock and Kirito sat there for another half an hour before he too returned to hitting his rock.

*smack smack smack*

And so it would continue for the next 4 hours, then another 4 days.

* * *

"Holy shit on a stick that's good~"

*Smack*

"OW!"

"Language."

.

.

.

"In the name of Morrigan, Minerva and Mars…that tastes like heaven~"

"Language~"

*Smack*

"GODDAMMIT WOMAN! _What_ was that for?!"

Naruto cradled his head for a moment before realizing something. "Oh yeah, it doesn't hurt." Picking himself up from where he face-planted, Kirito had a sweatdrop rolling down his head with comical slowness. "If it doesn't hurt, why were you being so dramatic?"

"It's the principle."

.

.

.

"O...kay? I'm just going to pretend I understood what you just said."

Going back to his food, Kirito watched as Naruto stewed for a moment before almost instantly switching gears and inhaling his Tremble Shortcake. Currently they were in the inn Argo recommended in Urbus called The Prancing Pony, an odd name for a city looking like it was build by dwarves but that was it's name. After completing the quest for the old man and thankfully getting their whisker marks removed, Naruto suggesting they indulge a little and try out the Tremble Shortcake Argo mentioned.

Across from him was Yugito who was elegantly devouring hers. She somehow made cutting up pieces of the shortcake and shoving it in her mouth with mechanical efficiency elegant.

Shaking his head in amusement, Kirito returned to his cake.

An hour later Naruto and Yugito were on the road, having parted ways with Kirito after they ate, and were now heading to a dungeon location Yugito got from Argo after trading her Iron Butterfly Sword to her. A fair trade, considering the only way to get them were from that shop in the Town of Beginnings, and even then it was pretty hard to find.

Stopping in front of an ancient structure that had some indo-chinese influence that was built into a mountainside. In all honesty it looked like a temple of some sort, with detailed carvings of strange demi-human figures sat atop the entrance and two odd-looking statues flanking the entrance. One looked like a strange fusion of the Ruin Kobold Sentinels and a bull. The other looked like nothing they'd ever seen, some form of demonic monster Yugito had guessed.

Stepping into the dungeon, Naruto looked around before grumbling and stepping outside. Finding Yugito using a pestle and mortar to craft something, Naruto cleared his throat to get her attention.

A little ways away from the dungeon, around 10 minutes walk, Naruto and Yugito were sitting in a safe area that took the form of a clearing in the pine forests. Fiddling with his skills, Naruto discussed their situation with Yugito.

"Inside of the dungeon looks...scary. It seemed to be something like a temple of some sort, with little alcoves in the walls and primitive carvings from what I could see. It's also quite dark, I checked but there aren't any spaces in the walls for torch brackets so we'll have to deal with Night Vision, lighting a torch would accomplish the same effect as hanging a large neon sign above us saying 'players here, come an get it!'"

Nodding, Yugito inspected some of the liquid she made with her Medicine Mixing skill. Satisfied, she coated some Throwing Picks with it and tucked them into a flap on the belt she wore. Opening her skill window, she changed her skills. Un-equipping Medicine Mixing and equipping Night Vision. She also swapped her skills around slightly.

Now her equipped skills were: Night Vision, Dual Wield Daggers, Martial Arts, Acrobatics and Light Metal Equipment.

Naruto had also swapped his skills and was currently fiddling with Martial Arts to make his equipped skills: Night Vision, Katana, Martial Arts, Parry and Acrobatics.

Undoing the straps for Tigerlily's sheath and replacing it so it hung from his waist, Naruto was privately glad he had had the foresight to repair all of their gear whilst at Urbus.

Standing up, Naruto flipped up his hood and helped Yugito up before they left for the dungeon.

A few hours later, Naruto and Yugito were slowly making their way into the heart of the dungeon where a dungeon boss was located. As they made their way down it quickly became apparent that the dungeon was a maze. All the corridors were identical and totally confusing; and to make it worse the walls had alcoves with small beastial idols that truly creeped Naruto out. Never let it be said that Naruto was fearless, mostly yes, but he was still afraid of certain things. Namely ghosts and the supernatural.

As they ventured deeper into the cave, they were set upon by many different monsters, most of which were demonic-types.

"You know, I sometime wonder why I travel with you...then there are moments likes these where I'm not sure whether to kill you or check you into a mental ward."

Kicking an ogre in the balls, Naruto rolled over its hunched back and swept into Tsumujiguruma. Leaping up and beheading the original ogre, Naruto's skill caught another 3 and opened up an enormous slash on their chests. Taking advantage of the stun, he then quickly dispatched them and fluidly slid Tigerlily back into its sheath before vibrating for a millisecond and reappearing with his back to Yugito, Tigerlily's blade glowing a poisonous green. As his sword clicked into place in the sheath the three ogres behind her exploded into a whirlwind of cerulean sparks.

Looking around, Naruto noted the lack of hostiles and sighed before he pulled up his map. Staring at it, he automatically traced their route in the dungeon with his finger, the appendage making all manner of loops, swirls and turns. Satisfied, he motioned to Yugito to keep going.

As they made headway in the dungeon, Yugito wondered what those ogres were aloud.

"Those _things_ were Dvarapala, ogres who act as doorkeepers in Cambodian Mythology."

"How'd you know that?"

"I have a detection skill, as well as a translator in my menu, you do too."

"...oh."

Smiling at Yugito, Naruto faked pain when she playfully punched him on the shoulder before the smile slid off his face. "Yugito." "I know." Slowly he inched his hand towards Tigerlily's hilt. Just as his finger brushed the pommel Naruto leapt to the side. Whirling around he blurred out of sight before reappearing in front of Yugito, his green blade impacting against a red one.

Sliding backwards slightly Naruto gritted his teeth before spinning to the side and driving his elbow into the temple of the assailant. Unfortunately in SAO due to a lack of pain receptors he clung to consciousness. As he kept moving due to momentum Naruto used his leg to sweep the attacker away. As the unknown player leapt over and away from Naruto's sweep, his hood fell and revealed his face.

The boy's face, for surely he was one, was rounded and a little pudgy with baby fat but still held some shape. His teal bloodshot eyes roamed over Naruto and Yugito with undisguised bloodlust. Around his eyebrowless eyes were black rings, like the rings of a racoon, or tanuki. The boy also had blood-red hair and a strange crimson tattoo for the word love on his forehead above his left eye. He was a rather short, although that could also be due to his age, around 1.45m or so.

He wore baggy cargo pants with a desert camo theme that was tucked into his black sandals. The boy also had a long-sleeved rusted-red shirt and a leather vest over it. Currently he had a thin, subtle scimitar dug into the ground; it's dull grey metal gleaming hungrily.

"...Mother…"

"Eh?"

"Mother...Mother wants your blood."

"What?!"

His piece said, the mysterious boy immediately charged, his blade glowing a sickly yellow. Frowning at the unknown skill, Naruto readied his katana, slipping it back into its sheath for a quick counterattack. As the boy charged forward, Naruto utilized Tsujikaze to intercept him and parry his blade.

As their swords clashed in a flurry of coloured sparks Naruto noticed something worrying; the boy in front of him, as slight and thin as he was, had the standard equipment build of a tank. Ducking under a swipe to his neck, Naruto activated Go no Sen as well as Ukifune Watari and slid backwards to give himself space to prepare a skill. Using Tsujikaze once again he was rewarded when Tigerlily impacted on the boy's torso. Causing a laceration from his left hip to right shoulder. Grunting, the boy hopped backwards. Looking at the pulsing red mark on his torso, the boy seemed to shudder slightly before an insane cackle sounded; rebounding off the cramped corridor and amplifying the sound.

"Good...very good. Mother...**Mother will enjoy **_**feastingon your blood**_**!**" Materializing a largo kite shield, the obviously disturbed boy held it out, shielding his body and charged at Naruto and Yugito. Running in to attack, Naruto was surprised when instead of stopping, the boy kept charging and allowed his shield to absorb the attack. He was so surprised in fact that he reacted too late to the oncoming attack. Instead of pulling his shield back to use his sword, the boy used his shield as a battering ram to essentially tackle him; as the shield slammed into Naruto the boy twisted and crushed him against the wall, pinning him.

Using his free hand to attempt to push the shield away, Naruto could only watch as the boy prepared to slide his blade in between his ribs. Seeing the point of the blade growing closer Naruto's face scrunched up in concentration, pushing against the shield once again his efforts were in vain; he didn't even budge an inch.

Suddenly the scimitar paused, the glowing blue blade of Guardian holding it in place. Grunting in effort, Yugito buried Resolve up to its guard in the boy's chest and used it as a handhold to pull herself upwards and deliver a rising kick to his chin, launching him across the corridor to crash into the wall.

Grabbing Yugito by the crook of her arm, Naruto bolted, picking up Tigerlily from where it lay when he dropped it when he got tackled.

"Why*Huff*are we running? We*Huff*can take that guy."

"We can't fight a tank*Huff*like him in close quarters.*Huff*That shield .is too big."

As they ran through the maze of twisting corridors and dead ends. Naruto pulled his map up and attempted to find a route leading to an open area where they could engage their assailant. Finding none, he tisked in annoyance. In fact, it appeared that they were heading deeper into the maze. Briefly he contemplated using a teleport crystal to get them back to Urbus but disregarded the idea. The boy was clearly a PKer, and leaving him in this dungeon would be incredibly dangerous, he might even succeed in killing them; but, if worst came to worst he would have Yugito teleport out and follow.

Quickly ducking into a corridor, Naruto chanced a glance behind them only to whip forwards and run faster. Seeing a glint at the end of the corridor he went full throttle and sprinted for the light.

Emerging in an enormous cavern, Naruto tried to slow down but failed and wound up sprawling on the floor; rolling to dissipate the momentum. Spinning around to face their pursuer, Naruto was unprepared for a loud impact behind him that threw him forwards to collide with the red-headed boy.

Groaning as he picked himself off the floor, Naruto gulped. Before them stood, for lack of a better word, monstrous beast.

It stood at a towering 5m tall and half as wide at the shoulders. The monstrosity, for surely it was one, glared at them with an elephant's head. Unfortunately, its claws were unsheathed and gleaming in the weak glow of the luminescent crystals embedded throughout the room. Yes. Claws.

The beast was some grotesque joining between an elephant and a lion. It's dull grey head was criss-crossed by many tribal tattoos in a deep blue ink, one of the things about it that immediately had Naruto on edge were its tusks. They weren't as short as a normal elephants, despite their tusks still being formidable; the tusks were long and curved towards each other half a meter from the ground, to make it worse there was a second set of tusks above the first. While the first set curved outwards before coming together, thus making somewhat of a battering tool, the second went straight out, poking over where the first set pointed towards each other.

The body of the beast was well muscled and covered in a dark blue-ish fur, it neck was covered in a lion's mane that rose like a frill, the claws in its paws had retracted however Naruto glimpsed them earlier. They were as sharp as a razor and as large as daggers. Its tail was long, nearly as long as its body and whipped back and forth behind it.

Forgetting his conflict with the red-head who was also staring at the giant for the moment, Naruto swallowed nervously and got into a basic stance, crouched and turned so his unarmed side was facing the monster.

Attempting to back away was a move Naruto would have avoided had it known what it would do. As he tentatively took a small step backwards, the monster's eyes glowed red before it reared up on its hind legs and trumpeted. As it crashed back to the floor its health bar and name appeared next to it.

Gajasimha¹

Under its name two health bars appeared.

Anything else Naruto would have wanted to analyze was forcefully thrown out the window as Gajasimha charged. Lowering its head so the first set of tusks touched the ground it proceeded to explode forwards at a velocity utterly unfair for something of its bulk.

Frantically leaping to the side Naruto watched as the monster impacted the red-head with the force of a speeding truck. He was about to call for Yugito to teleport out when he heard a scream of effort that was too masculine to be Yugito.

Amazingly, the boy had survived the charge and was just barely holding out against the juggernaut. As much as Naruto wanted to leave him there he couldn't. Sometimes his big heart was a curse as much as it was a blessing.

Appearing above Gajasimha's tusks Naruto used Tsujikaze to draw some of the beast's hate towards himself by opening a large gash across the top of its trunk. Landing atop one of its tusks, Naruto quickly hopped off and distanced himself from it to give the boy more time to recover.

Throwing himself to the side, Naruto avoided the tusks but was forced to use his sword to deflect the claws. Leaping up, Naruto used the omnidirectional swing of Tsumujiguruma to open up its flank. Using the stun from the skill as a means to escape, Naruto danced back to Yugito who was nervously folding her blades out in front of her, it appeared as though she wasn't sure if such small weapons could damage a beast as huge as this. Nudging her with his shoulder he decided to relay his plan.

"I'll distract it. You need to get on top of it and start carving it up, it doesn't have the ability to reach its back because of the way its joints work."

Nodding her assent, Yugito watched Naruto speed off before looking at her blades for a moment and gathered her resolve before following. Coming to a stop behind Gajasimha, Yugito began charging her best shot at bursting it down.

As Resolve and Guardian began to emit a dark red glow, Yugito drew a deep calming breath and activated Fatal Ambush.

While Yugito prepared to attempt to burst the monster down, Naruto was currently mitigating the damage he received by sharing the hate between himself and the red-haired boy. Landing on the ground after he launched an attack on its head, Naruto switched stances, drawing Tigerlily as he did so.

Instead of the agile stance he used in conjunction with Iai techniques, this stance was strong and stable, sacrificing speed for an immense boost in damage. Letting out a feral roar, Naruto made his challenge known as he glowed red for a moment before it died down. As Gajasimha turned, disregarding the other boy for the moment, Naruto decided to secure its attention on him using Samurai's Challenge.

Allowing a powerful scream to bounce off the walls, Naruto smiled, Gajasimha had accepted his challenge. As it charged him he quickly activated Ukifune Watari. Just as he was about to be mauled by the tusks of the beast, Naruto moved.

Seemingly gliding across the floor he retaliated in a flurry of fast, incredibly damaging strikes, his figure becoming a blur. The only signs of him actually striking were the large gashes he was opening in Gajasimha's body. As Naruto cut Gajasimha to shreds, Yugito had finally charged her skill and rushed in. Argumenting Fatal Ambush with Accel Fang and Stealth Blade her single strike deleted half of Gajasimha's health bar.

Thankfully, due to Naruto retaining a fair bit of hate, Yugito was able to spend her penalty time in peace as the beast totally disregarded her. As Naruto's skill wound to a halt, he was reduced to panting frantically from his usage of such a demanding skill, unable to move.

Just as he was about to be crushed by the beast's foot the other boy, now sufficiently rested picked him up and dashed away.

Setting him down, the red-head frowned at Naruto before simply stating, "This once, just this once Mother will put aside her thirst, she isn't keen on tasting death's embrace." Interpreting his words for, "I dislike it but I don't want to die so I'll work with you," Naruto nodded and replied, "You and me, we'll draw its hate towards us while Yugito hacks away at it. Switch when you feel you get too low." Growling, the boy scowled before charging at the beast. "I do not get low, Mother prevents it."

Blocking a charge head on with his shield, the boy used his scimitar to jab at Gajasimha before switching out and allowing Naruto to crash into it using Tsujikaze. They then began an intricate dance of death, weaving in between each other's attacks and Gajasimha's own.

Meanwhile, Yugito had re-used Accel Fang and was delivering a brutal frenzy of attacks. Once the temporary attack speed increase had ended, she switched strategies. She alternated between using Deadly Dance and a normal attack to create a fury of rapid, punishing blows.

Slowly, they managed to whittle its final health guage into its red zone before it revealed a dangerous skill. Rearing up onto its hind legs, Gajasimha let out a mighty trumpet before slamming back onto the ground, causing a large shockwave to course through the cave, knocking them away and stunning the two boys.

Yugito was sent careering into a small stalagmite, knocking the wind out of her. Naruto was thrown painfully on top of the other boy and blown away by the blast to collide with another stalagmite and have the other boy crash into him.

As her eyes opened, blurred by the impact, Yugito could barely make out a large shape. Blinking and shaking to clear her vision, she was horrified to see Gajasimha rearing up to slam its front feet into the ground. Directly onto Naruto.

The first thing Naruto registered was the disorientating effect of a stun, slowly the details returned, their fight with Gajasimha, getting hit by its AoE skill and so forth. Seeing a large shadow looming, he looked up and immediately wished he hadn't. All he could focus on was the large, clawed, foot hurtling for him. A hit like that would crush his ribcage and shatter all his ribs, no matter what if that foot hit he was dead. Trying desperately to move he found he couldn't due to the effects of the stun.

As the foot drew closer, Naruto gained a strange, almost accepting look on his face; as if he recognized his incoming doom and accepted it for what it was. '_Sorry, Onee-sama, it appears I broke my promise.'_

Suddenly, the foot stopped, actually to be more precise the entire creature stopped. Teetering gently, it swayed for a moment before collapsing on its side. Immediately Naruto snapped back to attention, his eyes opened and his pupils constricted, the irises returning to their normal size. Staggering to his feet, the stun wearing off, he stumbled over to where Yugito stood by its head.

As he made his way there, he noticed a few pinpricks of steel in between her fingers. '_Poisoned darts.'_ Looking at its health bar, Naruto realized it only had a sliver of health left, a strong wind would probably have killed it now. Staring at Yugito, he gestured to its head before he said. "You brought it down, your kill."

Nodding in acceptance, she drew Resolve and killed it, driving the blade straight through its eye. For a split second it lay still before the beast let out one final mournful trumpet and exploded in a shower of sparks, glittering as if congratulating them for their victory. Immediately a small window appeared in front of Yugito, notifying her of her last attack bonus as well as her other drops.

Collapsing to his knees in relief, Naruto collapsed, just barely managing to catch himself with his arms before he hit the floor. As he lay there panting, he just managed to make out a soft pitter-patter of footsteps and forced himself upright before arms wrapped themselves across his chest and he felt two soft mounds pressed against his back. For a few minutes they stayed there, Naruto on his knees staring up at the ceiling, looking at who knows what, and Yugito hugging him from behind.

Sadly, like all good things, it had to end. Rasping pants made themselves known, harsh and grating like someone running a blade across stone. Then came slow plodding footsteps, heavy, slowly drawing closer.

Naruto hadn't the strength to get up and so just squeezed her arm, feeling her nod into his back the arms around him tightened for a second before releasing their hold on him.

"Naruto, let me take care of this, just rest."

"Ye-Yeah…"

As Yugito engaged the boy, Naruto managed to force himself on his feet, using Tigerlily as a cane, he turned around just in time to see Yugito elbow the boy in the face and send him crashing onto his ass. As she straddled him, Guardian at his throat, Naruto could hear the desperate pleading, the soft wails of mercy from the boy. And for the first time, Naruto wondered how old he was.

"Yugito...enough. Don't kill him."

He just barely managed to hear Yugito remind the boy that it was an act of undeserved kindness that saved him before their voiced dropped into whispers. He honestly couldn't make out a single word in the exchange between the two before Yugito drew their conversation into audible levels by asking his name.

"My name, what I am addressed as rather, is Gaara."

Nodding, Yugito sent a friend request to him; by now Naruto had made it to them and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and, for reasons he didn't fully understand himself, nuzzled into the back of her head, conveying his thanks. She acknowledged by gently squeezing his arms, at which point he let go.

Sending a friend request to Gaara, when he accepted a new name appeared in Naruto's friends list. '_Shukaku? What an interesting name.'_ Sending Gaara his sternest look, Naruto began his instructions. "Meet us in Urbus, at the Inn of The Prancing Pony in 3 days, we'll have a task for you then. If I'm right it'll be able to quell your bloodlust, at least temporarily. You will act as an informant for us on the shadier guilds, like Laughing Coffin. We'll go through the details at the inn."

Nodding defeatedly, Gaara sighed before accepting. Taking pity on the boy, Naruto laid his hand on his shoulder, missing the surprised look on his face and continued. "As long as you're with us, you won't be alone. We look out for each other, ne?" Giving Gaara his warmest smile, due to his eyes closing as a result, Naruto missed the look that crossed Gaara's face. It was the look of a scared child, afraid to be alone.

"Naruto-sama…"

"Don't call me that, I feel like I just got hosed down by grease."

"...Naruto-san, allow me to share my story."

_~Flashback~_

_A little boy sat dejectedly on a small swing that hung from the branch of a gnarled oak tree. Half-heartedly pushing himself, he watched as all the other kids played without him. For as long as he remembered, people were afraid of him. He wasn't even sure why. It could have been because of his insomnia, it could have been because of the rings around his eyes, a bi-product of his affliction, or the fact he kept a small raccoon as a pet and that his father, strict and overbearing as he was, was the mayor of their small village._

_Even his older siblings feared him, they never said so but Gaara knew. They had the same eyes, eyes full of distrust, hatred, fear; the eyes they shared with so many others._

"_Gaara."_

"_Ya-Yashamaru-oji-sama. You're back early, I thought you wouldn't be back for another week."_

"_Haha, well, it turns out we finished early. So I was able to fly back sooner. Why? You're sad I'm back so soon? I'm hurt Gaara."_

"_No-no, I-"_

"_Hahaha, I'm just teasing you, Gaara. C'mon, your father's waiting, let's go."_

_Grasping his beloved uncles hand, his small child's hand getting swallowed up by the much larger hand of his uncle's, Gaara followed his sandy-haired uncle back to his home._

_At least he had one person who cared._

* * *

"_Gaa….ra. Run, Gaara…"_

"_Yashamaru-oji-sama!"_

"_Gaara, we have to go!"_

* * *

_Numb._

_All he felt was just that. Numb. Ever since Yashamaru was killed and their father arrested 5 years ago, Gaara and his older sister Temari and older brother Kankuro were bounced from foster home to foster home._

_However, a strain of bad luck seemed to follow the sand siblings, as they were dubbed. Families rejecting them, leaving the country, accidents, the list was endless. The worst was when a nice couple, a spiky-haired blonde man and his beautiful red-headed wife, were going to adopt them the next day. Just a day, they were just a day from having parents, a family. Then a social worker told them that the couple were killed in a shooting._

_Now Gaara was 10, Kankuro was 11 and Temari was 14. Gaara had an inability to express his emotions, something he noticed but never bothered with. Temari was trying desperately to find some way of supporting them, anything. But Kankuro always argued with her, saying that it was too dangerous for her. This had led to many arguments. _

_Gaara was actually the most normal out of the three, his social-ineptitude aside. Temari had a strange fascination for fans and had a small collection, around 20, of small foldable fans with different patterns. Kankuro had an obsession, both of his siblings had long since cursed one of their foster parents for taking them to see a kabuki theatre. Kankuro had been hooked, he then spent the next month carving his own puppet, a small but cute thing, he named it Karasu. Crow._

* * *

"_Wha-What…?"_

"_Kaa-chan...Gaara-"_

"_GO AWAY! GO! LEAVE ME ALONE!"_

"_W-Wait, Gaara!"_

_The rest of her sentence died on her lips as the door to her youngest brother's room slammed shut. Breaking down, she sobbed silently into her knees. Here, in the sanctity of her room, she didn't have to be strong. Didn't have to put up that tough facade to appear as a rock, a pillar of strength for her younger brothers. Many times she wondered if there was a God, and why he cursed them like this, cursed her baby brother like this. Even more times she swore and screamed at him,;asking, begging for something, anything to explain why their lives were like this._

_Looking at a particularly old fan, a beautiful thing with intricate stitchings of Sakura blossoms, she imagined life before Gaara had come along. Their mother, Karura, was a kind and gentle soul. Everyone who knew her couldn't help but fall in love with her sweet, nurturing disposition. Despite being very young at the time, Temari could remember her mother enjoying fan dances, often performing some at home as a hobby. The legacy of which she was looking at right now._

_Unfortunately, she hadn't survived a third pregnancy, the child was a premature birth and the stress had killed her. She only lived long enough to cradle her third child in her arms and name him before passing._

"_Temari-nee?"_

_Drying her tears quickly with her hand, she opened the door to her room. Kankuro stood in the doorway. As he sat on her bed, his shell cracked. Hugging his knees, no tears came, but Temari knew her brother well enough to know that tears were not needed. Sitting next to him, she allowed him to say what was on his mind. "Temari-nee, if...if you could go back, prevent Kaa-chan from getting pregnant with Gaara, would you do it?"_

_Her mind stilled. Go back? Prevent their mother from dying, but also preventing Gaara, her precious baby brother from existing. Sighing she leaned into him, their shoulders touching before she replied, so quiet she doubted she ever said anything at all. _

* * *

_~Flashback End~_

"No…"

"Wh-What?"

"She said 'no'."

Squeezing Gaara's shoulder gently, Naruto silently offered his support for someone he had only just met, and who had previously been trying to kill them, and yet he couldn't help but be moved by the story this boy had given. The fates are cruel, aren't they?

"I regret what I said that day, if I could go back and take it all back I would in a heartbeat. No matter what our father did, Temari...she always stayed strong. She was both a mother and father to me and Kankuro."

Smiling sadly, Naruto offered the boy his hand which he took before pulling him up. Allowing his hand to drop, he left one more piece of advice before he teleported, Yugito on his heels.

"Well, that's why we've gotta clear this game, isn't it? To see our precious people on the other side, to say what we've wanted to say for so long but kept it bottled up. I'm sure your sister will forgive you, Gaara. From what you've told me she sounds like she deeply loves you. But for now we, Yugito and I, will be there for you. In this world, loneliness is actually a more deadly thing than any sword. But people like us, we can blunt its bite. The only cure for a lonely heart is love, Gaara. If you join us we become family, we look out for each other. Think about it."

His piece said, Naruto fished out a crystal from his inventory before calling out, "Teleport: Urbus!"

And he was gone in a flash of blue flame, leaving Gaara alone in the empty chamber, pondering what the blonde had said.

* * *

"Well, have you made your decision?"

"Yes, I...I don't want to be lonely again."

"Then, Gaara, let me welcome you to the family. We are called ANBU; welcome, Ichibi."

* * *

**A/N: DONE! That took sooo long to write.**

**Next chapter will be a timeskip as well as Naruto wiping out a guild. For anyone wondering, a majority of the skills used are from Log Horizon. **

**Skills from Log Horizon:**

**Accel Fang**

**Fatal Ambush**

**Stealth Blade**

**Ukifune Watari - Ukifune Ferry**

**Go no Sen - The Earliness of Lateness**

**Suzaku no Kamae - Stance of the Vermillion Bird (The stance Naruto used towards the end of their fight with Gajasimha.)**

**Kasha no Tachi - Kasha's Tachi (The skill Naruto used before Yugito attacked Gajasimha.)**

**Iai no Kamae - Stance of the Iai (Naruto's normal stance.)**

**1: Gajasimha: A cambodian legend. It takes the form of a lion with an elephant's head.**


	5. Chapter 3: Just a Blacksmith

**A/N: Right, I don't have much to say for this chapter, just that due to the appearance of another character Naruto, Yugito and Gaara will be switching between their actual names and their in-game ones. Basically when it's one of the three of them in focus their real names will be used, but when the new character is in focus their in-game names will be used, simply because she doesn't know their real names.**

**Also, I just found out that blond is masculine and blond**_**e**_ **is feminine, apparently, but I'm sticking to blonde, just because I find it too annoying to switch every time. If you have a problem with that too bad, one grammatical (or is it spelling…) error is within reason I suppose. So...I get three demands every chapter, and one of which is to ignore that issue. If you got that reference good job.**

**Next, and last thing I promise, is that Naruto and Yugito have rather...blatant sexual conversations in this chapter. No, it's not that they like each other, openly at least, more of them teasing each other.**

**Chapter 3: Just a Blacksmith**

**Floor 20**

Yawning softly, a masked figure sat, perched on a tree branch as she waited for her target. Her face was obscured by a mask of some white material, something akin to ceramic, or bone. Despite being covered by a blue cloak as dark as night, the figure was undoubtedly female, the delicate hands and lithe build giving it away.

The sound of rustling leaves roused her from her rest, perking up, she crawled out from her spot in the junction between the trunk and branch to the middle where there was a small peephole where the leaves parted.

Looking out, she smiled, though it went unseen under the mask. '_It appears Kyuubi was right, this place is a hotspot for orange players, the client will be happy we've cleared this area for his usage. I just have to be careful, PKing isn't good for business. As much fun as it is.'_

Landing soundlessly on her feet, the player stayed in her crouch and crept closer to the five orange players in the clearing. Quietly, she unsheathed two knives, one was slightly longer and thicker than the other. It had a blade made of bone that had a strange etching on it, a stylised cat with two tails, the cat being made to look like it was made of fire.

Creeping closer, she was about to place one of her knives on the grass when one of the players' head shot up.

"There's someone in the shadows by the treeline!"

"Fuck! Hard way it is."

Springing up, all pretenses of stealth gone, she rushed into the clearing and tackled one of them, sinking her knives into his chest piece while she did so. Ignoring his grunt of surprise, she pushed off of him and catapulted herself out of the way of the swing of a battle axe. Scowling behind her mask, she swept another legs out and spun away, sinking a poisoned needle into his neck as she did so.

"You little bitch!"

.

***Twitch***

.

***Twitch***

.

"**THAT'S IT!**" Grabbing the head of the one who evidently had a deathwish, the woman drove her knee into his face. Had it been a real impact, the blow would have broken his nose and likely crushed his skull like a nut. Not done yet, she flipped him over her back and tore his armor open, shredding it and cleaving a large X-shaped slash on his body. In a fit of rage, she did something that would haunt her for some time.

Screaming in rage, she sank both her blades into his helmet and sliced it in half, unfortunately his head was still in it at the time and well...you get the idea.

Ducking under another slash by the one with the battle axe, she buried one of her blades in the his neck and allowed the potent poison in the blade to do its work. Whirling around, she kicked another in between his legs and slid her blade into the space at his armpit, easily bypassing the cloth he wore underneath his armor and eating into his health bar. '_Slow. They're all so slow. More used to the predictable monster algorithms and fighting patterns than an actual opponent, the client is either weak or paranoid.'_

Her job done, she turned to face the final member, a lance user who was literally shaking in his stolen armor. Pointing her blade at him, she allowed her mask to do the talking. The stylised paint and shape depicting a snarling cat with ice blue highlights.

Lowering her blade, she observed him as he sighed in relief. Pointing her blade at one of the immobile players, she noticed him tense and cocked her head, silently asking if they were precious to him.

Seeing him gulp before nodding ever so slightly, she lowered her blade and sheathed them, straightening up from her hunched position. "Take them and go, you have five seconds, after that I'll kill those that remain." Sighing, she watched him frantically pick up his fallen comrades and limp away.

Once they left the clearing, the woman sank to the forest floor. Removing her mask, she allowed herself to gulp the fresh air in frantically. Despite knowing that player's couldn't vomit, she desperately tried to suppress the rising gag reflex.

Slumping over, she gripped the grass tightly; as if it would keep her safe and sane.

By the time she recovered the sun had long since set. Drawing herself up, she began trudging back. ''_Guess I better go and report back'._

* * *

"Yugito? What are you doing here?"

"Naruto-kun, may I stay here? Just for tonight?"

Sufficiently awake, Naruto stared at Yugito incredulously. He was about to joke and tease her when his vision adjusted. Shutting his mouth with an audible click, he nodded and pulled his covers back, exposing his half-naked body.

Climbing into his bed, Yugito was assaulted by the smell that was uniquely Naruto. She never understood how and why players had smells in this game, but they did. Naruto's was an odd combination of crisp pine needles that were freshly crushed and a heady earthy smell that she couldn't identify. She felt that it suited him.

As Yugito snuggled into bed next to him, Naruto's nose was hit with the sharp aroma of fresh mountain air and the smell of the sea. '_Yugito…' _Looking down at the woman snuggling into his chest, Naruto smiled warmly and gently wiped her cheeks, his fingers coming back wet.

For a few minutes they lay there in comfortable silence, Naruto resting his chin gently on the top of her head and Yugito simply taking comfort in his presence. Eventually Naruto grew tired and fell asleep, Yugito following soon after.

The next morning was...interesting to say the least.

* * *

**Floor 18**

"Um, Yugito?"

"...Mmm...Yeah?"

"Would you mind releasing me? I really need to go to the bathroom."

"Huh?" That odd statement roused Yugito from her morning sleepiness. Surveying her surroundings, she found herself not in her room as she thought and Naruto was not calling her for a meeting. Instead she was in Naruto's room, lying on his naked chest in only her sleepwear, which was just a loose T-shirt that rode down to expose one shoulder and only went to her thighs, which now barely covered her rear. The draft she felt also confirmed that she truly wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing otherwise.

Shooting up, she attempted to leap off of the bed, unfortunately the keyword was _tried_. Some time during the night their legs had gotten intertwined, and so when she tried to get off the bed the result was a sprawling mess of tangled limbs and sheets.

Yugito came to rest on the floor, the blanket tangling her legs and her hair splayed around her head like a halo. A warm puff of air alerted her to her sleeping partner's location.

When Yugito fell off the bed, since their legs were still tangled, she also dragged Naruto down with her as well as the blanket. The end result of their tumble was Yugito on the floor, her hair laying around her head, stradling Naruto's waist. Said blonde was on top of her, hunched over, his head at the junction of her neck and collarbone and the blanket covering their lower bodies.

"Naruto-kun I-"

"Y-Y-Yugito-"

"Nibi, Kyuubi, what are the two of you doing?"

"Ichibi! I-"

"-We-"

"-That is-uh…"

"-This isn't what it looks like!"

Blinking slowly, Gaara appeared to process this information for a few seconds before taking a step back and slamming the door, his impassive expression not at all faltering or wavering. Although there was an odd gleam in his eyes.

Suitably embarrassed for one morning, Naruto quickly got up and untangled the blanket from himself. Dusting himself off and adjusting his boxers to what it normally was like, he look up before promptly spinning on his heel to face the door. "Um, Yugito? You...uh..._your shirt._"

Blinking in surprise, Yugito looked down at her shirt to see that it had ridden up so much it barely went below her waist, she thanked every deity out there that her modesty was still preserved, but that was beside the point. Squeaking in alarm, she quickly yanked it back down. "Did-Did you see anything?" She managed to squeak out, her face rapidly resembling a blonde tomato.

"N-No! I turned around as soon as I noticed."

Still blushing, Yugito look at her feet bashfully before a devious smirk made its way to her face and the blush receded until it was a slight flush tinge. Wrapping her arms around his chest, she rested her chin on his shoulder, smirking internally as she noticed him stiffen. "How considerate of you, my gentleman."

Blushing terribly, Naruto tried whatever he could to distract himself from the feeling of the two soft mounds pressed against his back and the husky purr that Yugito had naturally. Just he had recovered, she released him and danced in front of him, a wide smile on her face. Clasping her arms behind her back, she bent over and said, "Thanks Naruto-kun, I really appreciate it."

Her piece said, she turned around and left the room, hips swaying all the way.

As the door closed, Naruto sighed in relief and sat on the bed. "Gods, the things this woman does to me." Eying the bulge in his pants mutinously, he sighed. "I need a shower. A cold one." '_Yugito in the shirt, a shoulder exposed, bending over to...'_

"God damn it…"

* * *

"Good morning Kurama, enjoy your _romp _with Matatabi? From what Shukaku told us it was quite steamy."

Scowling, Naruto growled half-heartedly at the masked man sitting at their table who simply chuckled and went back to his coffee.

The man in question was a giant of a man, easily standing taller than Agil by quite a bit; Naruto doubted that Agil would even reach his shoulders, if even that. He wore plated Black Iron Armor that was a stained a burnt red in colour and covered his entire body. Over it he wore a simple black gi with its sleeves styled to look like they were torn off. The armor also normally covered the bottom of his face, but for certain things like meals as they were having now he removed it. On the floor leaning against the table was his red kasa.

The man himself, under his armor, was actually quite slight; he wasn't that skinny but his build was noticeably feminine, something Naruto enjoyed poking fun at, which led, several times, to the rib that his armor was compensating for it since they couldn't build up muscles in the game. He had honey-coloured eyes with pupils the same colour so it appeared as if he didn't have any most times, while it was often covered by his hat, he also had chestnut hair that was shaggy but kept short to prevent it from interfering with his hat, or at least that was his reason.

"Oh shut it Kokuo, we weren't doing anything."

"Oh really? I don't think-"

"Ha-n-_kun_, you wouldn't happen to be talking about something _inappropriate_ would you?" The sickly sweet tone sent shivers down both men's spines. The owner of said voice was a woman who looked to be in her late teens or early twenties with a petite build and sweet face with long ebony tresses that just lightly brushed her tailbone. "H-Haku-san! I-uh-that is…"

*SMACK*

"Gah!"

"No perverted things while eating, and not in front of women."

"Hehehe."

*SMACK*

"OW! _WHAT _was that for?!" Rubbing his head, Naruto eyed the raven-haired beauty who simply shot him a sweet smile mutinously for a moment before grumbling and starting on his toast. A giggle distracted him from his breakfast.

"Morning, Yugito-chan."

"Morning, Haku-chan."

"What about me?!"

"I would have thought you'd have enjoyed my _wake up call_ this morning, _Na-ru-to-kun_~"

Jerking back in his seat, Naruto never noticed Han silently shaking in laughter or Haku smile knowingly at the two blondes. Getting an idea, he smirked mischievously. As Yugito passed him by on her way to her seat at their table in the inn, he stood up and cupped her chin gently before leaning in, his breath caressing ear and his hair tickling her cheek.

"Maybe I wasn't awake enough, Yugito-_chan_; and maybe I need a _round two _to wake up fully, how about it, hmm?" Noticing her involuntary shiver, he went in for the kill, making his voice as husky and as seductive as he could. "You game, Yugito-chan?" Smirking as she grew even redder, he decided to add insult to injury and nipped her ear lobe playfully before kissing the curve of her jaw and watched in satisfaction as her whole body shuddered.

Turning around, he was just about to sit back down when he was jerked back to face her. Rational thought fled as she leaned in. Just as their lips were about to touch she smirked and kissed his cheek instead, her tongue darting out unseen to just slightly wet a whisker mark. Immediately afterwards she retracted and placed herself on his seat. "Foolish Naruto-kun, I always win."

Gaping stupidly, Naruto stayed still as a statue for a few seconds; after around half a minute Han got curious and stood in front of him, waving his hand in front of his face. When that got no reaction he began poking him, losing patience, Han huffed in annoyance and whispered, "Oi, Matatabi, eat his ramen."

"RAMEN!" Darting to the nearest chair, which just happened to be Han's, Naruto looked around frantically for his ramen. Seeing none, he slumped and pouted at Han. "That was mean." Smiling condescendingly, Yugito patted his head and smiled brightly, "Aww, don't be sad, Naruto-kun. You'll get ramen, if you finish today's mission early."

"ONWARDS!"

"...Only you, Naruto-kun."

* * *

**( watch?v=0_etr45aCpg - Most Wondrous Battle OSTs Ever: I'm A Legend)**

Sitting in a tree, Naruto sighed sadly, he really didn't want to do this; but the client spoke, and despite the methods he agreed with where the client was coming from.

"Hey, Kurama, do you wanna join us down here?" Smiling under his hood, Naruto shook his head and patted the branch he was sitting on. "Nah, I'll just stay up here." A chuckle floated up and the reply came in a teasing but barbless tone. "Fine fine, us commoners'll stay down here."

When the man below him turned around to continue talking, Naruto sighed. Fingering the grip of Tigerlily, he bit his lip. Unsheathing it, he gripped it tightly and looked down at the campsite below him. '_I hate doing this...'_

_~Flashback~_

"_Kyuubi?"_

"_That's me." _

_Nodding in acceptance, the hooded figure sat at the table in the dimly lit corner of a tavern on the third floor. Once the figure made himself comfortable, the masked man opposite him began, his mask gleaming sinisterly in the candlelight. "So. You came back. I thought you said you'd never use our services again after that time on the sixteenth floor?" _

_Despite the both of them knowing that the question truly wasn't a question, the hooded figure seemed to slouch for a second before straightening, like he was sighing. "Yes; I know what I said. It was impulsive and arrogant for me to do so, and for that I apologize, Kyuubi."_

_Behind his mask, Naruto smirked, he hadn't missed how the man had skirted the question. Apologizing for his mistake, and yet there wasn't an admission that he had regretted it included. Ignoring that for the moment, he sighed, the sound coming out mangled as it passed his mask. "We can point fingers on whose fault that _incident _was later. For now let's get to the point, shall we?"_

"_Yes, let's. The reason I contacted you was because I recently received word that an orange guild had established itself. I don't know what their symbol is or how many members the guild has, it is a new guild after all. But like a cancer it will grow and fester if left undisturbed. I'm sure you understand where I'm going with this."_

_Nodding, Naruto closed his eyes in thought for a few moments before opening them, although this went unseen to the man sitting opposite him. "So, an extermination mission? That's unlike you, from your record with us you mainly used us as a bodyguard service for higher levelled dungeons or as couriers to acquire some interesting items. Finally seeing the light? Or dark, rather, in this case."_

"_Despite my distaste for the details of the mission, I'm no fool; I know where to draw the line and PK guilds cross it pretty assuredly, and an orange guild can easily become a PK guild if ignored for long enough. Besides, this is also for the protection of myself as well as my guild mates as it is for being a good samaritan."_

_A disbelieving snort caused him to chuckle dryly. "If that's the case then you really hate your guild mates huh? 'Good Samaritan' my ass." Sighing, the hooded figure stood to leave, as he did he held his hand out. "So we have an accord?"_

_Naruto smiled behind his mask and shook it, "Fine, I'll do it myself, so as to assure the quality of the job."_

~Flashback End~

Staring at the players below him, blissfully ignorant of the assassin above them as they went about their merrymaking, Naruto's grip on his sword tightened and would have gotten painful in real life. Staring at them, he was struck by the similarity between the players below him and his friends, both acted singularly human; if he didn't know any better he would have thought that those players were a normal gaggle of friends banding together for survival.

But they weren't.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto counted to ten before releasing it and disappearing from his spot. Taking advantage of the soundlessness of Tsujikaze Naruto appeared in between two players and managed to get the one to his right in the strike radius, opening up an enormous slash from his right hip to left shoulder.

Trying his best to ignore the terrified expression on the man's face as he watched his health drop, Naruto quickly activated Ukifune Watari in an effort to offset the speed reduction from Suzaku no Kamae. Using Shunsen, Naruto unleashed a flurry of fast, punishing strikes that killed three people and sent two others reeling.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto exhaled and steeled his nerves. '_Can't give up now.'_ Appearing behind one of the players who retreated from his attack, Naruto sucked in a deep breath before bringing his sword down executioner-style.

"HA!"

Utilizing the position he finished Kabuto-wari in, Naruto blurred out of existence and appeared behind the someone else and bisected them using Tsujikaze. As he was in the middle of the swing, Naruto noticed something in his peripherals. '_Shit!'_ Completing the strike, he braced himself before getting sent flying into a tree from the Whirlwind skill of another player.

As he slid down the trunk, Naruto's vision blurred. Collapsing on the ground, he managed to get onto all fours and shook his head to get rid of the blur. Forcing himself to his knees, he looked up just in time to see a large axe head descending like the axe of an executioner.

Rolling to the side, he watched as the axe buried itself where his head used to be. Scrambling to his feet, he just managed to avoid another wild swing from the man who was, and rightly so, pissed. Frantically scanning the area, Naruto noticed the hilt of Tigerlily glinting in a patch of sunlight. Diving for it, he gripped it and spun to face the axe-wielder.

Just as he turned, Naruto was treated to see the man in an overhead swing coming straight at him. Flinching, he closed his eyes and looked away. One second...Two...A metallic clang caused him to flinch as he awaited the impact, feeling none, he opened his eyes and gasped as he saw the edge of the axe just a hair's-breadth away from his nose. The only thing preventing said axe from cutting into him was the two knives that were lodged into the area between the blade and the handle. The aforementioned blades were intimately familiar with the blonde, he forged one of them after all.

"Yugito…"

Baring her teeth in a feral perversion of a scowl, Yugito made a strange hissing noise before pushing the axe away.

"You will not touch him!"

The burly axe-wielder's gaze wandered from the enraged blonde in front of him to the hooded one he had just hit previously. '_That cloak-!' _Scowling, he immediately attacked again, yelling all the while. "You traitor! We trusted you and you betrayed us! We even let you join us, you'd have gotten a fair share of the loot too!"

Narrowing his eyes under his hood, Naruto returned Tigerlily to its sheath and dropped into a crouch. As he disappeared with Tsujikaze one thought made itself known. '_In all honesty, if this wasn't a death game, I might have actually taken you up on that offer for real. But loot from the dead is less satisfying when you know they actually die.' _ Appearing behind the man, Naruto stifled a flinch when he heard the tell-tale shattering sound that indicated a death.

With the added firepower that Yugito provided the two of them easily dispatched the remaining eight members. Splitting up, Naruto dealt with the two that were separated from the main group whilst Yugito went after the rest. As he approached them, the two men appeared to calculate their chances at killing him. Apparently not liking the odds they turned tail and ran. Frowning, Naruto gave chase. '_How pathetic.' _

Running in between the trees, dodging roots and branches, Naruto chased after the two. Catching up to them as they approached a clearing, Naruto beheaded one cleanly from behind. This spurred the other on as he heard his comrade killed to run faster, unfortunately he felt a blow to the back of his knee, dropping him down to his knees.

Naruto watched in contempt as the man frantically tried to scramble away before pinning him with his boot. As he unsheathed Tigerlily Naruto noticed some movement. Another player, a green one, most likely here to grind.

She looked around before spotting them, her eyes widening as, most likely, she saw the green indicator of the man on the ground, and Naruto's orange. The player herself was rather pretty with a kind face and slight build. Her brown hair was tied in a short ponytail with chin-length bangs framing her face.

"H-Hey! What're you doin' to him?!"

When she received no answer the player drew her sword, hefted her shield, and charged towards him. '_Well, there goes my hope of a covert operation.' _By this time she was just around five meters away from him. Slitting the man's throat, Naruto immediately darted off, heading towards the general direction of the way he came.

"Oi! Get back here!"

Swerving around a tree, Naruto risked a glance back and saw the woman keeping pace with him, albeit with some exertion on her part. Pulling up his map, Naruto noticed that there was only one signature where Yugito last was. Tisking in annoyance, he drew a throwing dart coated in paralysis poison that, according to Yugito, would last for around a minute. It was a far cry from the twenty minute poisons she used normally but enough for his purpose.

As he dodged another tree, Naruto whipped around and quickly threw the dart at the woman who, in her haste, couldn't block it in time and went down. Normally he would have used a longer lasting poison but the area they were in wasn't the friendliest of places.

**(Stop)**

Hearing a thump as the woman connected with the ground, Naruto kept running to distance himself and hopefully lose her before the paralysis wore off. After a few minutes of running Naruto found the clearing where Yugito was waiting, her hood up to cover herself. Surveying the clearing, Naruto tilted his head.

"They're dead, what about the two you were chasing?"

"Dead too, but I got seen."

Frowning, Yugito noted Naruto's marker before sighing. "Well, since the mission is over, I'll invite you back to the ANBU." Nodding, Naruto accepted the invitation as well as the promotion to Guild Leader that Yugito held normally in case of his absence as the second-in-command. Unequipping his cloak, he shook himself off before walking off, Yugito in tow. "My marker is permanently this way, by the way."

"So, how's it feel, being a Red Player?"

**( watch?v=hiykbcSr690 - Most Emotional OSTs Ever - Joy and Sorrow)**

Scoffing quietly, Naruto rolled his eyes before replying, "Not at all how it's cracked up to be, I really don't feel any different. Guilty, I guess, because I killed them; but I would've done so anyway, had we run into them on our own." Sighing, he looked up at the sky and watched the clouds for a moment before continuing. "I suppose it comes from the fact that this was a job. If I had done this because they attacked us at least I can say it was self-defense, but this, my conscience has more ammo than I'd like it to have."

Yugito was silent for a while before she slipped her hand into his, hers getting enveloped by his larger one. "I know how you feel." Naruto's grip tightened for a fraction of a second before relaxing. "I'm sorry, that mission a couple days ago, those were your first?"

"My first kills yes." Nodding, Naruto changed his grip to thread his fingers in between hers. "How are you coping?" Yugito sighed before looking away, seemingly distracted by a butterfly making its way across the forest. "Alright, I guess. I was a little out of it for awhile, but then I came to your room." When Naruto's grip tightened once more she shot him a wan smile before continuing, her expression morphing into a rare serious one. "You really helped, and I'm grateful for that, truly. I don't know what it was about you but after that night I wasn't haunted by it as much as before."

Seeing his faraway expression, Yugito gently bumped his shoulder with hers. "You alright? Those guys, were they-"

"No, no they weren't, well, not really." At Yugito's questioning gaze he sighed before elaborating. "When I was young, around eleven or twelve, I was with my sister and our mother when a man tried to rob the place we were in. To cut a long story short my sister managed to get his gun from him when he threatened to shoot our mother, she shot him but he got up. When I saw him reaching for her, I...I just snapped." By now the grip he had on her hand would have been extremely painful in real life but Yugito ignored it. "I got behind him and broke his neck at the same time she shot him in the head. Lucky shot, really, 'cause she could've just as easily shot me."

Chuckling mirthlessly, Naruto was surprised when he felt something warm wrap around him. He felt her stroke his hair gently and instinctively buried his head into her chest and wrapped his arms around the middle of her back. They stayed that way for a few minutes before he squeezed her gently and she let go. Smiling warmly at her, Naruto leaned in and very tenderly kissed her cheek. "Thank you, Yugito." She simply smiled bashfully and bumped his shoulder again.

Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, they made their way out of the forest.

As they wove through the trees on their way out, Naruto noticed the woman from before taking out her apparent frustration on some Drunk Apes that, while not at their strongest levelling ratio, were still formidable, especially when in groups like the five she was taking on with, rather ferocious, purpose.

Deciding to introduce himself, Naruto cleared his throat and said, "Y'know you're overkilling them, right?" Killing the last Ape, the woman huffed before slinging her shield onto her shoulder but kept her sword drawn. "What makes you think I know? I could be a player who isn't aware of these things." Nodding, Naruto noted mentally that while the woman's voice was smooth and could be considered gentle, there was a noticeable sharp edge to it.

"Well, simply put, I doubt you'd have survived as long as you have otherwise." This seemed to appease the woman who nodded in assent. Seeing her agreement, Naruto decided to push the boundaries a little. "If I may, you seemed to have an uncommon brutality while dealing with those Apes, something troubling you?" The woman shifted uncertainty before answering. "It really wasn't something _troubling _me per say, more of frustration. Aimed mainly at myself."

She seemed to mull something over privately before continuing, "I was entering the forest to grind when I say a cloaked man kill another man who, as I noticed, had an identical guild insignia; two intertwining green lines, very much like vines, against a silver background. So forgive me if I'm a little uneasy at the…" Her tones trailed off before finishing, but Naruto knew from her line of sight that she was looking at his marker.

"Oh, my marker, it really wasn't something I could've controlled; see Matatabi, that is the woman next to me, and I got ambushed by some orange players. We fought back naturally, but I got...well...I got carried away, the heat of battle took quite the toll on my self-control." Smiling sheepishly, Naruto scratched the back of his head and tried to school his body language into as neutral of an impression as possible. "You mentioned a cloaked man, what did he look like?"

The woman shot him a dubious look but sheathed her blade. "Well, I wouldn't say it was a man, the figure was covered by a cloak as I said, but considering the general shape I'd say it was a masculine build. As for the figure himself, the cloak was a deep forest green with silver stitching at the seams. The weapon he used was a katana, it wasn't as long as some of the others, maybe a hand shorter in length? It happened too fast for me to take a good look. I couldn't stop him from killing the other guy, but I chased him. He was pretty fast, I was struggling to keep up, but he hit me with a dart coated in some kind of paralysis poison. Thankfully though it only lasted about a minute."

Getting the implication behind her description, Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully before getting an idea. "That sounds like someone I've heard of, Hunter. He matches the description you gave. But anyway. How about I repair your sword and shield for free, as a form of apology for startling you? Although if you want to improve them then there'll be charge."

Seeing her suspicious look, Naruto decided to elaborate. "I know I may not look it, but I'm mainly a blacksmith. Most of the armor we have are my work. I'm also rather good at weapons, or so I've been told. I've set up shop with Matatabi in the nearest town, Schmied. It's rather close, so if you want to rest before heading off to wherever you're going I'd recommend spending the night there."

Apparently this wasn't the right thing to say as her expression immediately became guarded and suspicious. She appeared to debate with herself over something before her hand twitched and she visibly took a deep breath and calmed down. "Very well, I was actually going to go to the front lines to have something appraised, but since you're a blacksmith I suppose you can do it, so then I'll be able to head back earlier. Although, you dress rather, oddly, for a blacksmith. Most of those I've seen use heavy armor and fight rather bluntly, just hitting until whatever it is they're hitting dies. They also don't grind as hard as other players."

Nodding, Naruto began heading out, Yugito falling into step just behind him. "See, the thing is, some of the best materials for forging are monster drops, and not metal that can be bought like the standard Black Iron or Cold Steel, hence my presence out here is mostly to acquire materials, the same with Yugito. Many good fabrics or their parts are found the same way, or so she tells me." Making an affirming noise, Yugito turned to the woman who was walking a few paces to their left. "It's the way thing work in SAO, the best stuff is found with the most risk, crafting materials like wood or metal included."

The woman made a noncommittal grunt before hesitating. "My name is Griselda, by the way, Leader of The Golden Apple Guild."

"I'm Kurama, just a member of a little guild with friends."

"Matatabi, I'm from the same guild as Kurama-kun."

**(Stop)**

* * *

Closing the door behind them, Naruto unequipped chestplate and armguards, revealing the design of a silver tree embroidered on his black shirt. "Just give me a moment to grab something from one of my storages in the back. Make yourself at home." With that he left the room.

Looking around, Griselda observed Kurama's house. It was a rather quaint place, rather deep but narrow, with a second story. The room they were in was furnished nicely but practically with a colour scheme of simply creams and little dashes of colour in the carpet and various paintings dotting the walls. The room they were in currently, the first room main room of the first floor, was decorated like a living room with a kitchenette attached in one corner. There was a staircase going up to the second floor, despite wanting to find out what was up there, Griselda felt the gaze of the woman, Matatabi, boring into her.

Making up her mind, she sighed imperceptibly and went over to one of the couches and sat down. Surprisingly, the couches were of rather good quality and were most likely rather expensive. Seeing Matatabi seat herself across from her, Griselda once more wondered on her relation with Kurama.

"You're wondering whether Kurama-kun and I are related, right, Griselda-san?"

"N-Not particularly." '_How'd she know?! Does she read minds or something?'_

"Oh, rather simple in fact, we've been asked that question several times, I'd assume from our more...animalistic appearance." Although her expression stayed neutral, Griselda stiffened as she heard that. '_Alright, now I'm convinced. This woman reads minds.' _"Not at all, you just happen to be easy to read." Despite her best efforts Griselda couldn't suppress the shiver that danced down her spine.

Smiling disarmingly at the older woman, Yugito continued, "Although, to answer your question, Kurama-kun and I are totally unrelated. It's mere coincidence." Deciding that it was better for her mental health not to think about it, Griselda simply nodded and accepted the statement at face value.

The door creaking as it opened distracted her for the moment. Kurama came back in, wearing his shirt and pants from before but with a blacksmith's apron over them. "Right then, Griselda-san, shall we get to repairing your weapon and armor?" Nodding her assent, Griselda unequipped her chestplate, arm guards and shin guards before passing them along with the broadsword and heater shield she used to Kurama.

Dematerializing them, Kurama turned around and made his way to the door to the rest of the first floor, waving her to follow him from over his shoulder. Placing his hands onto the anvil in the middle of his smithy, Naruto materialized her sword. "Let's do this one by one, so you know how much I can improve each piece, and in case you want a new one, with charge of course."

Seeing Griselda nod, Naruto opened the appraisal menu for her sword. "Hmmm, a Blood Rose huh...I'm not familiar with this blade, but it's a player-made one, so I suppose it's possible. A rather brutal design, all those little prongs, in real life had someone been stabbed with that their insides would have been shredded. It's a one-handed straight sword, a broadsword if I'm not mistaken. The stats are a little odd, focusing more on racking up damage over an extended time frame rather than on damage-per-hit, swords like that I normally see on DPS players but for a highly mobile player I suppose it's alright; although that raises questions as to why you use a shield. The red metal is also rather foreboding."

Gripping the sword, Naruto gave it a few experimental swings before nodding. "It's well made, the balance is good. It's a little worn, 679/900 durability, I can fix it and I also have some metal to try and improve it, it's a confirmed enhance until the fifth one, after that it's a little risky but I can go up to seven." Setting it down, he placed a hand on his hip and continued, "So, repairs are a confirm, but do you want improvements? It's around 150 Col for each improvement, 55 Col for a repair and 650 Col if you want a totally new sword, of course I'll pay you back if there's leftover Col from that estimate."

Humming in thought, Griselda rubbed her chin thoughtfully before replying, "As you said, repairs. How much better of a sword can you make?"

"With the materials I have now, around 1.5 times the stats, although you'd have to specify what stats you want."

"Then I'll take a new sword, but repair this one anyway. I'd like a new set of armor too, any idea of the estimate price?"

Naruto simply hummed before materializing the rest of her gear and checking their stats, seemingly calculating, his fingers moving while he did so. "For the armor, the parts you use now...I'd say 1500 Col. I'll be making them light but durable, they won't block as much damage as they _could, _but that's what your ability to dodge is for. The shield will be a little heavier than your current one, around 1.2 times, but you'll barely notice it unless you're in prolonged battles. It'll be...700 Col. The sword...considering your slightly more mobile but still durable style...I'd say one focusing on damage-per-hit rather than damaged over time would be better, so each hit you land counts."

"...So...2850 Col, 2915 with the repair...I can handle that. It's a little expensive, but since it's custom made I suppose that's to be expected. Okay, how long will it take?"

Scratching his chin thoughtfully, Naruto thought for a few seconds before answering, "Altogether...it'll take around half an hour, if an issue pops up and I can't make the budget I won't charge the extra. It's getting to dinner-time soon, so I'd invite you to stay the night, there's an extra room upstairs for guests so you'll be fine. The house is secure, so you'll be safe."

"Not that I don't appreciate the concern, but why?" She replied, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Well, there has been rumors of PKs on the rise, I don't want to jinx it by saying that I'm a little worried but you get the idea. As a businessman it's my responsibility to keep you safe as long as you're still a customer of mine. This house is far more secure than an inn, and I can't say I'm not a little worried about that item of yours. Speaking of that, would you like to have it appraised now, or tomorrow morning?"

"Ah yes! I almost forgot, here it is." Materializing a small silver ring, she tossed it to Naruto who opened the appraisal page for it. "Let's see, a Ring of the Fleet, a +20 agility and strength ring. It's a nice one, rare too, I'd put it at around 1250 Col, although to be fair I'd recommend using it rather than selling it. If theres a heavily-speed reliant player in your guild I'd recommend them using it, otherwise you're probably the best next fit for its stats."

Nodding gratefully, Griselda took the ring back from Naruto's open palm and put it onto her right ring finger. As she did a glint alerted Naruto to another ring she wore. "Oh, congratulations, who's the lucky guy?" Blushing faintly, Griselda seemed to regress into a shyer and meeker woman before regaining her confident pose. "Oh, my husband, Grimlock. He's my husband in real life too." Nodding happily, Naruto replied, "That's fine then, 'cause of the intimacies SAO introduces to marriage it's not something to be taken lightly, if Grimlock-san is your real husband I suppose it's alright."

Finishing his statement, Naruto promptly shooed Griselda out of the smithy.

* * *

For the next couple of hours, Yugito and Griselda wandered around Schmied, checking out some of the shops and making idle chat. The sun had just slipped below the horizon when they returned. Griselda had just closed the door behind them when Yugito quickly locked it and grabbed her hand. Putting a finger to her lips, Yugito quickly pulled the other woman into the smithy.

Closing and locking the door behind them, Yugito scanned the room before calling out, "Kurama-kun, we have a problem." Popping his head out from a corridor that was hidden by the forge, Naruto's expression was somewhere around confused, concerned, and a strange calmness that roused Griselda's suspicion slightly.

Stepping out into the smithy fully, Naruto rubbed his head with a small cloth that he plucked off of a hook. "What is it?"

"I noticed our customer has a tail." This garnered Naruto's full attention. Replacing the cloth on the hook, he changed into his normal clothing, armor and all, as well as a forest green cloak Griselda found oddly familiar. "Did you get a good look at them?" Shaking her head, Griselda noted that Matatabi seemed a little more sheepish than would have reason to be. "No, but I managed to find out they were exclusively tailing us, so either I managed to piss someone off pretty badly, or Griselda-san did."

Ah, so that was why she was dragged all across Schmied.

Huffing in annoyance, Yugito cocked her hip and continued. "Whoever they are, they were pretty good, I couldn't pinpoint where exactly they were; just that there was _someone _following us. I lost them a few times in the crowd, and they didn't see us get back, so I think we're safe."

Nodding, Naruto sighed before opening his menu. "I'm going to send a message to Shukaku and Kokuo, Haku-san is still on an assignment, so it'll just be the guys this time." Griselda seemed a little lost before something registered. "This 'Kokuo' is a guy? The name seems rather feminine to me."

"His sister's account."

"Ah."

For the next few minutes they stood rather awkwardly in silence, rather, Griselda felt a little awkward. It was rather clear that Matatabi and Kurama were used to working with each other, and she felt like the third wheel in this case. "Griselda-san?" "Hmm?" "Perhaps you ought to tell your guild you'll be a little late? It will be a few hours before the boys get here, and another day or two before we catch whoever it is that's stalking you."

Blinking in surprise, Griselda nonetheless complied and sent a message to Grimlock, telling him that she'd be a little held up. Sighing, Naruto unequipped his clock and said, "We might as well have dinner now, since they'll be here in around three hours. I need to finish a weapon I was making, then I'll join you two."

Nodding in understanding, Yugito tugged Griselda out of the room. For a few minutes the two women sat in silence on one of the couches opposite each other. Just as Griselda opened her mouth to say something the door to the smithy opened and Naruto stepped out, looking a little tired. Yawning widely, he flopped onto the couch Yugito was sitting on and was about to say something when a message popped up. "Shukaku says he'll be here in ten minutes, he finished the job early so he's using a teleport crystal. I'm not sure about Kokuo though, he hasn't said anything."

Nodding in acceptance, Yugito sighed before getting up and heading over to the kitchenette. "I'm going to start on dinner, Griselda-san, if you can cook would you help me? Kurama-kun can't cook anything without burning it."

"Yeah, sure. But my cooking skill isn't very high, the most I can do is cook some basics."

"That's fine, we aren't having a dinner party, it's just for some friends."

While cooking in SAO was, as Asuna commented, highly simplified to the point of being boring, it was undeniably fast. Between the two cooks it only took them a few minutes to prepare everything, although the actual food would only be finished after twenty minutes or so. Preparing some tea for them while they waited, Yugito noticed Griselda looking a little lost.

"Something wrong, Griselda-san?"

A little embarrassed that she had been caught spacing out, Griselda frantically shook her head. "N-Nothing!" Seeing the other female's unimpressed look, her shoulders slumped. Laughing sheepishly, Griselda held her hands up to placate her. "It's nothing, really. I was just wondering why you're living with Kurama-san, I never noticed the ring from a marriage and you're not related." Blushing faintly at the personal question, Yugito paused as she gripped the tea tray tightly. "Kurama-kun was the first person I met in this accursed game. He stayed by my side, a total stranger's, and refused to leave even when we found out about getting trapped in here."

Making her way over to the coffee table in between the couches, Yugito set the tray down before seating herself on one of the couches. "There's not much to it. He's been my rock throughout this whole ordeal. Kurama-kun's saved me more times than I can count, and not all in the physical sense either, although there were a few of those instances too. I suppose we've gotten so used to seeing each other everyday that we never thought how it looked to others." Finishing her explanation, Yugito lapsed into a contemplative silence for a few moments before she started. "Where are my manners?! Would you like some tea? It kinda tastes like chamomile."

Recognising the matter as closed, Griselda simply smiled and took a cup.

* * *

"That was really nice!"

"Indeed, I agree."

Looking at the stoic redhead disapprovingly, Naruto admonished him gently. "That's not really very polite Shukaku. Saying stuff in a monotone can be rude at times, you know." The aforementioned boy simply turned his thousand mile stare on him before replying in an equally monotone voice. "Apologies, Kurama." The blonde simply sweatdropped awkwardly.

Seeing Griselda shoot unsettled glances at Gaara when she thought no one was looking, Han stopped drinking his coffee. "Despite how robotic Shukaku looks, he is quite normal, Griselda-san. Just a little stiff." His piece said, the large man returned to his coffee.

Not all too reassured by a man who looked as if getting hit by a truck was his idea of a tickle, Griselda tried to calm her rather frazzled nerves. Sipping the tea, she found it to help soothe her nerves. Letting out a sigh of relief, she continued with her meal, now undistracted by the unnerving redhead with a startling resemblance to a tanuki. The next hour or so was spent getting to know each other. Griselda found out about the circumstances surrounding how Shukaku, Kokuo and Kurama met. She also noted how Kurama seemed to meet many people by fighting them; and although their orange markers caused her some unease for a while she quickly found herself relaxing, like she was in the company of trusted friends.

Once they finished eating and cleaned up, they adjourned to the second floor, more specifically a room that Griselda thought resembled a secret headquarters of sort, although that could just have easily been because it was the meeting place for Kurama's fellow guild members.

Plopping into a soft leather armchair, Naruto gestured for the others to take a seat, Han taking a seat at the other end of the long wooden table and Yugito and Gaara to his right and left, respectively. Griselda simply perched herself stiffly onto an armchair in the middle with Naruto to her left. Staring at Griselda for a moment, Naruto sighed before speaking. "So...we need to figure out what to do with Griselda-san's tail."

Almost immediately Han's booming voice sounded. "Simple, we follow 'em and kill 'em." Coughing lightly to gain attention to himself, Naruto tried to placate the horrified-looking Griselda. "I agree to the first part, not the second though. Whoever is following Griselda-san is doing it for a reason, and I'm willing to bet it's for that ring she carries." Pausing, Naruto locked eyes with Yugito and saw her nod almost imperceptibly. "I think we should have someone escort Griselda-san around under the guise of showing her the city and then get another person to shadow them to try and catch their tail out of position."

Looking around, Naruto noted their approving expressions before continuing. "Right, I'd say Matatabi will act as her escort since it's less suspicious for two women to be together than a woman and a man, especially when only one is wearing a wedding ring. Any volunteers for their shadow? Or will I have to do it?"

"I'll do it." Gaara found himself the target of four questioning gazes and sighed before explaining. "Due to Kokuo-san…" He hesitated. "Size, he can be spotted easily, the armor he wears is also brightly coloured. Whereas Kurama-san is well known to the people who frequent this area and so they would naturally be suspicious of a blacksmith wandering around the city for apparently no reason. I, however, am not as well known, nor am I as large as Kokuo-san and my armor is of a duller colour. Thus I am the best choice for this."

"Yeah, I thought of that too. I was actually considering getting one of our other members to do it, that guy, Eren, has been complaining about getting bored and I was thinking of making him do this to learn a bit of patience. I would hope that he'd learn a little subtlety but I highly doubt it." Naruto agreed. Getting up, he walked over to the door, talking as he did. "Griselda-san, since you'll be staying here for the night you'll be bunking with Matatabi while I will be in the room next to yours and the guys'll be in the one at the end of the hall."

**( watch?v=cjjqrxKTVWk - Most Epic OSTs Ever - Crescendo)**

With that they all headed off to bed.

Closing the door behind them, Griselda noticed that there was only one bed, although it was a double-size. "Sorry, I only have one bed. Although we're both girls so I think it'll be alright. Besides, Ethics Code is on, for me at least." Blushing faintly, Griselda bit her lower lip in thought before coming to a decision and unequipping her armor and outer clothing, leaving her in just her long-sleeved cadmium green tunic that went down to her knees. A quiet swooshing noise alerted her to Matatabi changing as well.

Turning around, Griselda noted that without her armor or baggy clothing Matatabi was actually a rather petite woman. Her lithe build and feral features made her seem like a well-groomed cat, although the oversized shirt she was wearing detracted from the somewhat. Letting her hair out of her braid, Yugito allowed it to flop down to her tailbone in a single, silky curtain. Turning to Griselda, she noticed her staring and smirked mischievously and cocked her hip and adopted a seductive pose, her natural sultry purr sending shocks down the older woman's spine. "Like what you see?"

Giggling at the dark-haired woman's spluttering, Yugito smiled and slung her arm over the other woman's shoulder. "Relax, Griselda-san, I'm just as straight as you are." Smiling genially, Yugito was about to suggest going to bed when she noticed that Griselda's hair was still in its short ponytail. "Aren't you going to let your hair down? If it's the boys you're worried about don't, I locked the door."

Relaxing slightly, Griselda nodded wordlessly and undid her ponytail, allowing her hair to fall down in its chin-length bob. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Yugito lay down and patted the portion next to her. Understanding the blonde's meaning, Griselda lay down on the aforementioned side. Drawing the blanket over the two of them, Yugito switched off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into near darkness, the only light coming from a sliver of moonlight seeping through a crack in the curtains.

Yawning cutely, Yugito turned onto her side so her back was facing her roommate for the night. "G'night, Griselda-san."

"'Night, Matatabi-san."

**(Stop)**

* * *

**( watch?v=yb37E0Xai8k - Most Emotional OSTs - She Runs)**

The next morning, Griselda woke up rather early for her standards, around seven in the morning. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked around. Her heart was seized by panic for split second before she remembered. '_Right...that whole fiasco yesterday.'_ Scanning the room, she noticed that the curtains were drawn open and the windows were just ajar. Remembering her sleeping partner, she turned to wake her when she saw that the other side of the bed, while showing signs of inhabitation, was cold.

Blinking in surprise, she got off the bed and re-equipped her armor. "Must've overslept…" Leaving her feet bare, the brunette quietly padded downstairs, her feet making muffled thumps as she went.

Reaching the living room, she was startled when she saw the other occupants of the house already up and totally awake. Kokuo was sitting on the couch with his ever-present cup of coffee in one hand and reading 'newspaper', really just a bunch of rumors and stories, with the other while Matatabi had perched herself on the one opposite him and was documenting something, most likely the different variations and effects of the many plants and herbs sprawled on the table in front of her. Kurama and Shukaku were seemingly absorbed in their discussion, Kurama was making energetic gestures with his arms with Shukaku adding some input of something or the other here and there. She simply concluded that they were discussing certain weapons and armor. Boys.

Scanning the room, she noticed the pot of, most likely, coffee and mechanically made her way to it. Pouring herself some into a cup she plucked off a shelf she inhaled deeply. '_Ahh, nothing like some nice coffee in the morning.'_

Several minutes later, now sufficiently awake, Griselda finally realized something. "Hey, what time did all of you get up? I got up at seven, which is pretty early, and you all were already awake."

Drawn out of his, rather one sided, conversation with Gaara, Naruto noticed Griselda leaning on the counter in the kitchenette and her question registered. "Oh, I was up at around six."

"Six fifteen."

"Six thirty." Blinking in surprise, Griselda was about to say something else when she noticed that Shukaku hadn't answered. "Shukaku-san, how about you?" The redhead simply pointed to the dark rings around his eyes that, unlike what she had originally thought, were not makeup but actual markings. "...Insomniac." Oh.

Naruto decided to break the ice a little and said, "So...how was your sleep?" Surprised by the blonde's statement, Griselda was grateful for the distraction and replied, "Rather nice, more so than normal, although I'm not sure if it was because I was tired from yesterday's activities or just because the bed was better than the one I normally sleep in."

By this time, Han had long since finished reading the paper. Draining his cup, he lumbered over to the sink, placed the cup inside and stretched, groaning as he felt his back pop. "Right, now let's get down to business. I'll go and try to rustle up some info on who might be following Griselda-san, their allegiance rather. We've been in the game for six months or so, but from what I understand most guilds are still rather small, not more than ten members or so. So guilds that work for hire aren't overly common, not that I think the guy tailing her _is _from a guild, he could just be a random guy who's stalking the pretty lady here."

Blushing slightly at the 'pretty lady' comment, Griselda was still slightly unnerved by how casually they were analyzing the situation. Kurama especially, he seemed to be a regular, if very generous and slightly eccentric, blacksmith. But he was a better leader than most guild leaders she had met here and there.

Equipping his chestplate and armguards, Naruto fiddled with them for a moment before speaking. "What we'll do is this: Matatabi and Griselda-san are going to act as bait and wander around the city with Shukaku shadowing them. Once they pinpoint the stalker they'll head out into the field; once that happens Shukaku'll jump the tail and subdue him with the help of Matatabi and Griselda-san. After that they'll send a message to me and I'll head over to try and get some information from him. The information we'll then cross-reference with Kokuo's to try and figure out what's going on."

Making an agreeing grunt, Han stood up and dusted himself off before equipping his armor and with that, he placed his hat on his head and was gone. Replacing her herbs into a wooden storage box, Yugito slid it under the coffee table and equipped her cloak. "Right then, Griselda-san, let's get to work. The faster we finish our part the faster you can be back with your hubby." Walking out the door, Yugito didn't miss the shadow that crossed Griselda's face for a moment.

Once they were out the door, Gaara counted to three hundred and followed.

Making his way over to the couch, Naruto snagged a spare cup and the coffee jar from the counter. Pouring himself a cup, the young blonde set the jar onto the coffee table and sat down. Opening his friends menu, Naruto checked the location of his other guild members. Seeing a trio of signatures in one spot, he sipped his coffee and mumbled softly. "So...Eren and Armin are done, nice to see that you're keeping them in line, Mikasa."

.

.

.

"So bored...undercover work sucks."

* * *

*Beep*

Shooting off the couch, Naruto heard the cup he was holding shatter audibly and winced; Yugito was _not _going to be happy about that. Tripping over the coffee table, he landed face first on the floor. Picking himself up, grumbling all the way, Naruto noticed the small message icon in the corner of his vision. Opening it up, his brow furrowed as he read it.

**Naruto-kun, apprehended the stalker with Gaara's help. Griselda is getting a little suspicious. More importantly though...you better get here soon, there's something you should see.**

"Something I should see...I'm getting a bad feeling about this."

**(Stop)**

* * *

**( watch?v=aZxBpMFAT5c - Most Wondrous Battle OSTs Ever - Rage of Mars)**

Dropping out of one of the trees, Naruto landed behind Griselda who didn't notice. Deciding to teach her a lesson on vigilance he spoke rather suddenly. "So...what is it I need to see?" This, of course, caused the effect of Griselda jumping in surprise and whirling around, her sword already in mid-swing. Unsheathing Tigerlily partially, Naruto allowed the two swords to bite into each other with a clang. "As ironic as it would be for me to be killed by a weapon I made, I have no real motivation for that to happen any time soon."

Seeing Griselda's indignant glare, he smiled and said, "Hello to you too." This served to annoy the woman further, if her glower was any indication. A soft cough interrupted the two from going any further. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Naruto straightened up and continued. "So, what's going on?"

"Well, we captured this idiot," Giving the man who was lying face-down at her feet a kick, Yugito continued. "When he attacked us the moment we were in the field. I just hit him with a throwing dagger coated in paralysis poison and voila, one stupid PKer captured."

Frowning at the cloaked man on the ground, Naruto debated what to do. He could just kill him, but then they wouldn't learn anything, or he could interrogate him; but that would present the problem of who to do it as: Hunter, Kurama or Kyuubi. Settling on Kyuubi, he equipped his mask and flipped his hood over his head.

Grabbing the man by the scruff of his neck, Naruto flipped him around and grabbed his throat before slamming him against a tree. Using his forearm to pin the man by his neck, Naruto turned so the hilt of Tigerlily was exposed.

"I'm going to make this simple, scum. Who are you working for?"

"F-Fuck you!"

Rolling his eyes behind his mask at the false bravado, Naruto unsheathed Tigerlily and stabbed it into the man's shoulder, igniting a terrified whimper. "Wrong answer." When the man refused to say anything, Naruto twisted the blade, causing another whimper, before yanking it out. Removing his arm, Naruto watched the man slump to the ground in palpable distain.

Scanning the man for any marks or insignias, Naruto noticed a design on the back of the man's glove. It wasn't anything he had ever seen before. The mark looked to be some form of casket with a strange smiling face on it and a single arm waving at him lazily.

Frowning once more, Naruto brutally drove the heel of his boot against the man's head and pinned him down with little effort. "I'll ask again. Who are you working for? Think about what'll happen to you if you don't cooperate."

"Screw you!"

Crouching down to the man's level, Naruto grabbed his throat in a vice-like-grip and slammed him against the tree again. "Do you know who I am?" "A fucking psycho, that's who!" Sighing, although the mask scrambled the sound into something like a snarl, Naruto replied. "Kyuubi." Seeing the man tense immediately, Naruto immediately blasted the man with KI. "So...you've heard of me. Now, care to answer my question? It's really not that hard…"

"S-Some glasses-wearing pussy. Hired us to kill that bitch in green over there."

Sighing once more in mock exasperation, Naruto patted the man's shoulder in what should have been friendliness; although in this case it merely caused his captive to flinch. "You're gonna have to do better than that, I need a name; a description. Something."

"A-Alright! I couldn't really see his face, but he wore tinted glasses and wore some purple coat. He paid us a shit ton to 'kill the leader of The Golden Apple, Griselda.'. That's all I know, honest!"

Tapping his chin with the flat of his blade, Naruto appeared to think on the information for a while. Seeing the man relax, obviously thinking he was going to be spared, Naruto immediately drove his blade into the man's neck.

"W-Wait!"

Pausing, the tip of Tigerlily just brushing the man's jugular, Naruto left it there. "I'm listening."

"When the deal was done the guy mumbled something about 'my precious snowflake' and laughed like some psycho! That's everything I know about the dude, I swear!"

Picking up a thump behind him, Naruto assumed it to be Griselda. Narrowing his eyes in thought, he straightened up and brushed himself off. He swung his sword as if to flick off some blood before sheathing it. "Y-You're gonna let me go, right? I told you everything I know." Shooting the man a contemptuous glare, Naruto allowed his KI to spike for a second before cutting it off, promoting a relieved sigh from the man.

"Now...I-argh!"

Watching the man dissolve into sparks, his life ending with his avatar's, Naruto hid Tigerlily under his cloak. "I never said that."

Making his way over to the others, Naruto noted that Griselda had fallen to her knees, with Yugito wrapping her arm around her to comfort her. Unequipping his mask, Naruto pulled his hood back to allow it to rest on his shoulders. "That was rather brutal, don't you think?" Eyeing Gaara for a second before smiling sheepishly, Naruto shrugged before replying. "Well, I never _did _say that I'd let him go."

"Not that. I meant _how _you...disposed of him. Crushing his throat with the butt of your scabbard is rather cruel, don't you think?"

Shrugging noncommittally, Naruto decided to keep silent. Scanning the clearing they were in for any prying eyes, his vision eventually swept over the two women on the ground, Griselda crying silently into Yugito's shoulder while the younger woman held her gently. Had it been Naruto who was being cried on he would've felt incredibly awkward and nervous but Yugito seemed not to care even though she had no idea what caused the strong woman to break down like this. He simply chalked it up to being a female.

Leaning against a tree, Naruto decided to wait for Griselda to compose herself before asking her who it was that wanted her dead; if she even knew him, but that was rather pointless currently; and so they remained for several minutes in awkward silence, awkward for the boys that is.

Once Griselda had sufficiently composed herself, her eyes looking completely normal instead of the puffy red they would normally be, Naruto finally decided to ask, "Griselda-san, who was that, who called you 'his little snowflake'?" This nearly caused her to break down again, a strangled sob escaping before she could stop it, although she seemed to gather her resolve and spoke in a strangled voice. "That man, Grimlock. He's the only one to call me that. And he's my husband."

**(Stop)**

That; was a surprise indeed. Recalling how she told him that her husband in game was also her actual husband, Naruto's eyebrow arched in surprise. "Any idea, any at all, as to _why exactly _your husband would want to kill you? Spouses share an inventory in this game from what I know, so it couldn't have been the ring."

"I-I don't know...I mean, I've never given him any reason to do so. I was the perfect wife, obedient and caring for my husband…"

Frowning, Naruto made his way over to her and crouched so he was level with her. Cupping her chin, he lifted her face so she was looking at his. "I don't really know much about marriage, being a bachelor myself, but what I _do _know is that being married is supposed to be a two-way thing. Both partners are meant to be equal, and I'm getting the distinct impression that you're the one who gets the short end of the stick in your situation."

Seeing the conflicted expression flitting across her face, Naruto sighed before letting go. "Look, I'm not saying what you're doing is wrong, just that it should be reciprocated. I think that there is a possibility that what Grimlock feels for you is not love, simply possession."

"I-I-"

"Griselda, I honestly think Kurama-kun is right on this one. But if you're still not convinced, let's try this. Un-friend everyone you're currently friends with and exit your guild." Seeing her confused expression, Yugito decided to elaborate, her tone never wavering from the soothing throaty one she had currently. "It'll be a test, to see how affected Grimlock will be by your 'death', and if he'll show any remorse. We'll spread rumors of your demise, while you go undercover for a few weeks."

Frowning, Griselda pondered the offer. Leave behind everything, every_one_ she knew, to thrust herself into the arms of essentially strangers. But if she didn't leave, she would probably get assassinated, Kurama and his friends couldn't be there forever. She was about to decline when she remembered what the man had said. "My little snowflake.". Her fists clenched.

"I accept, but you have to induct me into your guild as well." Shrugging, Naruto sent a request to the woman, it really didn't matter to him.

Steeling her resolve, Griselda opened her menu and dissolved all of her friends contacts as well as her position as guild leader, giving that place to the co-leader, Grimlock. When her finger hovered over the button that said "**Divorce**" she hesitated. Sharing a meaningful look with Matatabi who nodded, Griselda pressed it. Once she did a small window popped up.

**Divorce.**

**Please choose the method of item distribution of your choice.**

Under that message was a slider with her and Grimlock's names at the ends, presumably to decided the percentage of which they got their items. Turning the item distribution to: **Grimlock 100% ; Griselda 0%**, she was about to accept it when she realized something. By doing so, and making Grimlock believe she was dead, all of her items would be sent to him; including the ones she was currently wearing.

Blushing faintly, Griselda showed the window to Matatabi who paled. Understanding her situation, Yugito turned around to face the two boys. "Boys, turn around." When they remained as they were, staring at her incredulously, she frowned and repeated her statement, using her finger to punctuate it this time. Still not comprehending why she was making them do that, the two males complied nonetheless, her temper wasn't something they wanted directed at them; even if she did seem to have a soft spot for Naruto.

Waiting a few seconds to make sure they weren't going to peek, Yugito turned back and sent Griselda a nod. Nodding back, the brunette took a deep breath and accepted. Immediately her inventory emptied and she was left standing there in just her underwear, her hair tie remaining for some reason.

Opening her inventory, Yugito sent a set of her own 'day clothes' as she called them, just a set of black trousers, a forest green tunic and leather sandals, over to the other woman via trade request. Accepted the request gratefully, Griselda quickly equipped the clothes. Seeing her finish, Yugito signaled the boys that they could turn around.

Seeing Griselda in different clothes and without any equipment, Naruto came to the conclusion that she had finished the divorce, if the lack of a ring on her left ring finger was any indication. Nodding in satisfaction, he removed a teleport crystal from a pouch on the back of his left hip. Unequipping his cloak, the blonde then watched as Yugito and Gaara did the same, the former pulling out two; raising his crystal, he then said in a soft but clear voice, "Teleport: Taft."

**Floor 11: Taft**

**( watch?v=TBaSjRaqYAI - Most Emotional OSTs Ever - Shards of Light)**

Arriving in what appeared to be a Southern European or Mediterranean town, Naruto sucked in a deep breath. It was good to be home. Hearing the distinct screech of a teleport, he turned around to see Yugito with Griselda in tow appearing in a cloud of blue flame, an instant later Gaara materialized as well.

Motioning them along, Naruto was stopped a few times by some players who made some polite conversation before moving on. After navigating the twisting alleys and streets of the town for several minutes, they came across an odd-looking house.

It was two stories tall, with an attic, and made out of a strange stone that Griselda thought rather looked like sandstone she had seen on the internet with beautiful wavy patterns. The door and window sills were made out of a light-coloured wood and the shingles on the roof were made of a dark grey stone.

While the house itself was rather normal, it still stuck out rather oddly, it's ribbed walls and dark roof contrasting greatly with the otherwise bright and uniform buildings.

Walking up to the door, Naruto unlocked it and ushered them inside, taking care to lock the door behind them. The inside of the house was, for lack of a better word, cozy. To their direct right were two armchairs and a couch facing an unlit fireplace with a coffee table separating them.

The entire left side of the ground floor was taken up by a large oak table, easily seven meters in length and around two in breadth. The back right of the floor had a staircase leading to the upper levels. Leading them to the attic, Naruto walked over to the window over-looking the street below and closed the curtains, while he did so Yugito switched the wall-mounted lights on.

Surveying the attic, Griselda was rather overwhelmed at the sheer _amount _of _stuff_ in there. Against the far wall to either side of the window were racks of swords and chests of equipment and cupboards filled with armor and uniforms were pressed against the walls on either side of them. The middle of the room was conspicuously empty; a simple carpet lying innocently on the floor.

Try as she might Griselda couldn't keep the question rising to her tongue from slipping out. "What is this place?"

"Well…an attic." Seeing the woman's glare, Naruto held his arms up in surrender and let out a sheepish chuckle. "Alright alright. In all seriousness this house is the headquarters of my guild." Picking up on the possessive term which he addressed his guild with, Griselda sent him her driest look and said. "'Just a member of a little guild with friends' eh?" In an extremely sardonic voice.

Giving a light awkward laugh, Naruto decided not to speak, there really wasn't anything he could've said anyway.

**(Stop)**

Deciding to get on topic, Gaara cleared his throat. Seeing everyone's attention on him, the redhead shuffled awkwardly and said, "Anyway, since we're here, maybe we should give Griselda-san the 'run down'; as they say." Blinking in surprise, Naruto nodded. "Right. But before we do, I'm glad that you're trying to use more...informal speech, but we need to work on your monotone." Coughing lightly, Naruto continued. "Anyway, the basic explanation is that we're part of a guild that does mercenary and bounty-hunting work." Seeing Griselda about to open her mouth to ask something he quickly held up his hand to stall her. "I'm know what you're thinking, "what's the difference between bounty-hunters and mercenaries?" Well the main difference is bounty-hunters have to fetch stuff, mostly items, and are restricted by a certain code preset by the client. Like no killing, or within three days et cetera. Mercenaries do anything the client requires, assassination, bribery and such; another difference is that the parameters of a mercenaries' mission can be discussed, and changed if necessary, with the client."

Seeing Griselda paying close attention, Naruto continued. "We go by the name of ANBU, and currently there are around twenty members, excluding yourself. It's five members under each squad leader, said leaders being the four people you had dinner with last night.

Now, to understand how we do this is that we take a look at your skill set. For example, most tanks are under Shukaku's leadership while the assassins are under Matatabi's. Kokuo and I have joint command over the other main damage dealers in the front lines, I believe he called them 'Off-tanks'. I'm not quite sure on the meaning myself but I think it has something to do with players who fight in the front but are not as durable as the tanks, nor have as high DPS as the assassins."

Finishing, Naruto opened his menu and sent a request to Griselda. Accepting it, Griselda noticed the little guild signature next to her health appearing. '_A flame, huh...how appropriate.'_

"Well, now that that's said and done, we need to get a good grip of your skills...first we'll…"

.

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"Kurama-kun, your rambling again."

"Eh he he, sorry."

'_Maybe this won't be so bad, after all. A new chapter in my life has begun, and I'm rather excited for it.'_

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**A/N: That, was a long chapter. Griselda won't have a very large impact on the story, this chapter was more of a filler for next chapter. Next chapter: 25th Floor! If you guys haven't voted for your pairing then do so now! 'Cause once it's finalized I won't change it. **

**Oh, and check out PureTempest, the writer I beta for and an all 'round great woman. One of her stories you may know, 'The Red Tempest of Konoha', is a continuation of the original by StormyRebel, her brother, which she is continuing after his unfortunate passing. But her original stories are just as good, better in my opinion.**

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**Yeah I'm done. GO AND DO SOMETHING SOCIAL! THE POWER OF THE AUTHOR COMMANDS IT!**

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**You're still here? Right, then go and check out AdrianVonZiegler and HDSoundDI on YouTube, all of the music in this chapter is from them.**


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